#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 18 - Half Moons

Half Moon nail art designs can be really beautiful and classy. Whenever I get dressed up, I inevitably create a half moon nail art to complement my outfit.

However, for today's half moon challenge, I was feeling a little puckish and wanted to create something fun—and what's more fun than balloons and confetti?

I started with a neutral base coat, to make sure all the colors showed to their best advantages, then used french tip vinyls to add the glitter and create the edges of the balloons. The colors used for today's challenge are:

• Wet n Wild - Sugar Coat
• LA Colors - Candy Sprinkles
• Orly - Risque Encounter
• Revlon - Entice
• China Glaze - Spontaneous
• Revlon - Provoke
• LA Colors - Aquatic
• Wet n Wild - Wet Cement

Do you have a fun, new design you've tried during the 31-Day Challenge? Tell me about it in the comments.

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 17 - Glitter

I have mixed feelings about glitter. In some designs, it can look really beautiful. During the holidays, especially Christmas and New Year's, it's very festive to have extra sparkle on your nails. 

However, glitter can be very difficult to work with at times. Some glitter formulas spread better than others; some have to be manipulated by hand to look right on your nails. Plus every one I've ever tried is difficult to remove.

But for all my complaining, I have many different kinds of glitter polish and use it often. My favorite glitters are ones that look more like confetti—it's like a party on my fingers! The colors and glitters I used for this gradient design are:

• Sinful Colors - Bright Lucite
• Revlon - Provoke
• Fergie by Wet n Wild - Kaleidoscope Eyes
• LA Colors - Craze

Anyone have a good trick to make removing glitter polish easier? I'd love to hear about it below. 

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 16 - Geometric

Wow, Day 16! We're already halfway through the challenge and today I'm back in my comfort zone.

After I learned how to do gradients, the next technique I tried to master was tape masking. I soon discovered it can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it, but it's definitely a great way to create some really amazing nail designs.

For today's geometric challenge I used regular Scotch tape, but instead of applying one color to the entire nail, I used different colors for the individual sections. I used a neutral color for the base to achieve another negative space effect (see Day 1 of the challenge for my first negative space design).

The colors used for today's challenge are:

• Wet n Wild - Sugar Coat (neutral base)
• China Glaze - Spontaneous
• LA Colors - Aquatic
• China Glaze - Purple Panic

How are you feeling now that we're halfway through the challenge? Are you going to make it all the way to the end? Let me know what you think in the comments below.

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 15 - Delicate Print

Mehendi (or mendhi)—the art of decorating the hands and other parts of the body with henna—has always been fascinating to me. The patterns and designs created by henna artists are beautiful and intricate and application can take many hours.

I've wanted to create a mehendi nail design for a while now, but the intricacy of the designs are kind of intimidating. However, I promised to push myself out of my comfort zone during this 31-day challenge, so I finally worked up the nerve to take on this design.

My freehand painting skills have improved, but I'm still not confident enough to try such a complicated design, so I used a Sharpie marker (another new technique I've wanted to try) over a bronze-tone polish. A small "bindi" jewel on the ring finger finishes off the look. The colors and decorations for today's challenge are:

• Revlon - Fall Mood
• Sharpie Fine Point - Black
• Sassy & Chic Nail Jewels

Although the design isn't as "delicate" as I'd like it to be for this Delicate Print challenge, as first attempts go I'm please with how it came out. This is how we self-taught newbies learn—by trial and error. Next time it will be better.

Do you have a new nail art technique that you've tried, or are planning to try, during the 31-day challenge? Tell me about it in the comments below.

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 14 - Flowers

The Gerbera Daisy (or African Daisy) is one of my favorite flowers. With their large blooms and wide variety of bright colors, they always seem so happy and cheerful to me. 

I've created nail art designs with flowers before, but I've never created any with gerbera daisies, so today's challenge seemed like a good opportunity to try it.

Today's challenge was also a good opportunity to get some more freehand practice. I painted the petals of each flower with a base color, then highlighted with a secondary color. To finish up, I used a dotting tool to make the dark centers. The colors I used for today's challenge are:

• Revlon - Entice
• Sinful Colors - Pull Over; Big Daddy
• China Glaze - That's Shore Bright; Hang Ten Toes; Sun of a Peach
• Revlon - French Roast

Receiving a bouquet of gerbera daisies will always make my day a little better. Do you have a favorite flower? Have you ever created a nail art design with that flower? Let's discuss it in the comments below.

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 13 - Animal Print

Regarding today's design: I'm not sure I've ever done nail art that looked so different from how I imagined it and yet that I was still so pleased with how it came out. 

Last school year, I was helping my son do a science project and I came across a picture of a beautiful tropical snake with purple scales that faded into its yellow belly and jewel-like green eyes. When I was planning today's design, I knew I wanted to do an "homage" to that snake.

However, once I started the design, nothing went right. I had planned to use netting and a sponge to make the scales, but I ended up with a muddled mess. Desperate for an alternative, I looked through my stamping plates and, luckily, I had one that looked like reptile scales. But when I tried it, I realized I had to adjust the colors I'd planned to use. Plus, I'd never created a nail stamp with more than a single color, so it took several tries to get the technique to work. Finally, I ended up with something I liked.

Not at all what I had in mind, but the more I looked at the finished design, the happier I was with it. The colors I used for this design are:

• Wet n Wild - On A Trip
• Wet n Wild - Disturbia
• Sinful Colors - Pull Over
• Sinful Colors - Call You Later
• Maybelline Color Show - Onyx Rush

Have you created a "nail fail" that ended up looking better than you anticipated? Let's discuss it in the comments below.

#31DC2014 31-Day Challenge - Day 12 - Stripes

For some reason, the combination of pink and black—especially when it includes stripes—always reminds me of Paris. I don't know why but it's that association that inspired the design for today's challenge.

I visited France many years ago during a student exchange program, but unfortunately never made it to Paris. I was studying in Great Britain and a group of us rode the Hovercraft across the channel and spent a few days in Calais. I hope to go to Paris in the not-too-distant future with my husband and my son (fingers crossed).

Once again, I'm pushing myself to do more freehand work so the stripes, graphic, and lettering were all done by hand.

The colors and decorations used in this design are:

• Sinful Colors - Starfish
• Maybelline Color Show - Onyx Rush
• Kiss Nail Art Striper - Black
• Sassy & Chic Nail Jewels

Do you have a color or color combination that reminds you of a specific time, place, or memory? Let me know in the comments below.