Alphabet Nail Art Challenge: Letter F

Hello my lovelies! It's Saturday! And beside it being the first day of a long weekend, it's also time for me to show you some nail art. You might have noticed that I haven't been doing much of that lately. Lack of time and inspiration have been the main reason. I'm very happy to let you know that my inspiration is back. Yesterday I did two different nail art looks so I already have posts ready for next week. But first let me tell you about the Alphabet Nail Art Challenge. This very fun challenge was started a few weeks ago by the lovely ladies in The Polish Addict group on Facebook. It's very easy: each week has a different letter and everyone gets to do some nail art with a theme that starts with that letter. Luckily, there are no rules about joining so you can join every week that you can. That's how I was able to join in at letter F. I created some flowers (no surprise there, really) using a technique that I've been meaning to try for a while.

The technique I'm talking about is called leadlight or leadlight stamping, to be more precise. It has been around for a while in the stamping community but I'm sure it's not that popular outside of it. Basically, you need some sheer polishes like the OPI Sheer Tints or other very sheer jellies. You stamp a pattern on your nails and then fill it in using these polishes. The nice thing is that because of them being so sheer it will be less evident if you go outside the line, mainly because the polish isn't visible over black. For more details please watch this tutorial by Messy Mansion.

So this is my first attempt at leadlighting. Because I don't own any Sheer Tints, I created my own by adding a few drops of polish to a bit of cheap top coat. It's really easy for anyone to do this, you just need a few empty bottles and a bottle of top coat that you are not going to use. I used OPI My Boyfriend Scales Walls as a base and then stamped with a flower image from plate CH14. I then filled it in with coral, yellow and green sheer polish and finished with top coat. This is the same image I've used when I first experimented with the stamping decal technique (post here), which is another advanced stamping technique. Basically these two techniques yield pretty much the same result but the leadlight technique is a lot easier and less time consuming.

I'm not 100% happy with this manicure but for the first attempt it's ok. I need to find some stamping images that work better with this technique because I've really enjoyed creating these. Meanwhile, I will leave you with the links for the other ladies participating in today's challenge. Take care!

Andreea - www.dittanail.blogspot.ro
Mihaela - http://elasdreams.blogspot.ro
Oana - http://unghiutele.blogspot.ro
Oana - http://wanna-nails.blogspot.com
Mădălina - http://misshappyandhernails.blogspot.ro
Rita - http://addictedofbutterflies.wordpress.com
Andrea - http://andicolouryourlife.blogspot.ro
Andra - http://andrakat.wordpress.com
Andra (Sophie) - http://sophiesnailartdreamland.blogspot.ro
Ella - http://beauty-corner-for-women.blogspot.ro
Iulia - http://iuliabeldean.blogspot.ro/
Deyutza - http://deyutza87.blogspot.ro
Teo - http://taitzel-make-up.blogspot.ro/
Madalina - http://frumusetelapretmic.blogspot.ro/
Sascha - http://mypsychonails.blogspot.com
Mihaela - http://lacquerbuzz.com
Kinga - http://polish-blue-my-mind.blogspot.ro/
Alina - http://venuschic.blogspot.ro/
Romina - http://sparkleandlove.wordpress.com/
Ana's Beauty Blog - http://ana-s-beautyblog.blogspot.ro/
Ana Maria - http://unghiutelemele.blogspot.ro/