12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 12

Zooey Deschanel's Christmas Sweater Nails

I made it to the final day of the challenge (even if it was a little behind schedule)! The last theme in the challenge was my favourite Christmas design. Last year I saw Zooey Deschanel's Christmas sweater nails on Instagram and I was instantly hooked on nail art!

 Before this point I had only ever dabbled in French manicures, so I had never actually done a nail art design. I attempted to recreate Zooey's design on my own nails but these were the days before I discovered dotting tools and paint brushes, so from what I can recall I used a bobby pin and a sewing pin. Needless to say it ended in disaster (and very nearly tears) when the nail polish went flying through the air and splattered my brand new Iphone, thankfully because it was shiny and new it had the ultimate protection and was saved - it really was a Christmas miracle! I ended up going on YouTube and discovered CutePolish's channel and followed her step by step tutorial on santa hats, and with that my obsession with all things nails began...

So I decided to face my fear and attempt the Christmas jumper design again...

I decided to shake up the design a little by doing red on a cream background, which I think worked really well. I am also very pleased with the reindeer, as I attempted a similar design on a friend a few weeks ago and the reindeer was too fat and antler-less.

I have learnt a lot about nails and nail art by doing this challenge, and I feel I have improved my skills by attempting more difficult designs.

I hope you have enjoyed my challenge :) Thanks for coming along for the ride!

Until Next Time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 11

Day 11 of the nail challenge was based on my favourite Christmas film - The Muppet Christmas Carol. It is a family tradition to watch The Muppet Christmas Carol every Christmas Eve, and this year was no different although we did manage to fall asleep halfway through - sacrilege! 

Originally I had grand plans to do all of The Muppets but it ended up just being a festive Kermit. 

Until Next Time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 10

I know I am VERY behind on my blog posts, Christmas coupled with my sister coming home from University has meant its been a week of Christmas TV/films, chocolate, presents, cupcake making, chocolate, sale shopping and more chocolate, but I am officially back!

Day 10 of my Christmas nail challenge was based on the song ' Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas', so I decided to do little gift-wrapped presents on each nail.

I decided to alternate the red and the green to make it feel extra Christmassy. 

Until Next Time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 9

Time is definitely not my friend at the moment! The countdown is now officially on to Christmas, which has resulted in a lot less time! So I decided to try a quick and simple design for today's challenge, 'Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer'...

Although the design is simple I think it is still very cute and if nothing else the red nose gives away that it is Rudolph inspired if nothing else (well I hope so anyway!).

Until next time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 8

Holly & the Ivy was today's nail art theme. I wasn't looking forward to it thanks to my Christmas pudding ivy attempts. After a little google search for inspiration I came across Cutepolish's recent YouTube video for a quick and simple design...

I don't particularly think the ivy looks like ivy but I still like the overall look and I think it definitely feels Christmassy. 

I started with a French manicure design, using masking tape and Rimmel's French Manicure White. The then used a festive red and green to complete the holly and ivy look.

Until next time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 4

Today's nail art challenge was based on the song 'Frosty the Snowman'.

I used Blanc by Essie and Miss Sporty's Twinkle Shine (my current glitter polish favourite) as a base colour. I then used a black striper and dotting tool to create the snowman's (snowmen's?) hat, coal eyes and mouth. I used a silver glitter striper to add detail to the hat and George's Sunset Orange to draw sideways triangles for the nose.

I hope you like it!

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 3

Today's nail art challenge was based around the song 'Oh Christmas Tree'. I wanted to do something slightly different from the traditional block colour design with a decorated tree, so I opted for a winter Christmas tree snow scene instead.

I used a clear glitter polish as a base coat, and then I painted the tips of my nails white to imitate snowfall on the ground. I used two green polishes to create the trees; Camouflage by Rimmel and Emerald City by Revlon. To finish I used a small dotting tool to create white and silver snowflakes over the top of the design.

Until next time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 2

My second nail art design was based on my favourite Christmas book; How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr Seuss.

I can always remember Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone 2 watching the cartoon version of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. A few years later (although I'm sure in reality it was a good 10 years or so after) I can vividly remember watching The Grinch starring Jim Carey at the cinema.

However, it wasn't until recently I actually read the book. I instantly loved it and now I reread it every Christmas.

The Grinch took a little time and a lot of patience but I am pleased with the result :)

Until next time...

12 Days of Christmas Nail Art Challenge - Day 1

YAY it is finally December, and I get to start my 12 days of Christmas nail art challenge! Today's design was based around the song 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town'...

Last year I did one of my very first nail art designs - Santa hats (using CutePolish's YouTube tutorial), so this year I wanted to do one better and incorporate Santa's face in the design.

All that is required for the design is a red, white and gold polish. I also used a black striper and a range of dotting tools to create the eyes, nose, buttons and fur. 

My next nail art design will be based on my favourite Christmas book.

Until next time...

Christmas Nail Art Challenge - 12 Days of Christmas

I've wanted to do a nail challenge for a while, so I love the prospect of doing a Christmas nail challenge! I have decided to stick to just 12 days of Christmas rather than 25 so that it gives me a little more freedom, every other day should be easier than everyday! I have chosen to base my 'themes' around Christmas songs (with the exception of the 'favourite' days). I have also specified the dates in which I plan to do each design, and I will try to upload a photograph on that day or the day after.

Here is the list...

I'm hoping this will first and foremost get me into the Christmas spirit, but also help improve my skills! 

If you are thinking of doing a Christmas nail challenge (or want to join me with mine) please let me know in the comments section below :)