Guest Post Series, with The Polish Playground - Blue and Coral Chevron Nail Art Tutorial

Today, I welcome Lisa, from The Polish Playground. Lisa is a fairly new blogger, and she always has a great mix of nice clean, colour accurate swatches, and nail art.
I love the chevrons she did here. She very creatively made her own nail art stickers!! Read on to find out how.
Thank you Lisa for sharing with us today!


Hello everyone! I'm Lisa from The Polish Playground and its such an honor to be guest posting for Pam. This is actually only my second time doing a guest post so I wanted to try out a design I've never attempted on my blog. I recently bought a set of craft scissors from Micheals so I thought why not try out some chevron nails. I've always wanted to do one but for some reason never got the chance to. Let's see how it turned out.

I started with American Apparel American Denim on my pinky and ring finger. For the rest of my nails, I have on American Apparel Neon Coral. For my pinky and pointer finger, I did a simple gradient using Sally Hansen Bling-tastic. Prior to painting my nails, I painted a coat of American Apparel American Denim on parchment paper and allowed it to dry over night. With my zig zag scissors from Michaels, I cut some chevron stripes out of it. Then I peeled the polish off the parchment paper to reveal homemade nail decals. While the base color on my ring and middle finger was still tacky, I applied the chevron stripes on, making sure to press it down. Lastly, I applied Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat.

I love how these turned out! I had a bit of trouble with the chevron stripes curling when I applied top coat so I'll have to practice more with it or try using scotch tape instead. Let me know what you think about this manicure below. If you want to see more from me, check out my blog, The Polish Playground. Thank you again to Pam for allowing me to guest post over at her blog. Have a great day everyone!

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

Guest Post Series, with My Life in Polish. (Stamping)

Today, I welcome Sara from My Life in Polish to the blog. I am a fairly new follower of her blog, but I was immediately impressed with her swatches, and layering choices. Be sure to head over to her blog, and show her some love!

Thank you Sara, for sharing your pretty creation with us! I think it's so classy looking!
♥Pam♥

Hi Everyone!  I'm Sara from My Life in Polish.  I'm so excited to be posting here today.  Today I have a subtle stamping mani for you.  I started with two coats of Barielle Decadence, teal perfection in a bottle.  Then I added one coat of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Ice Pop so it had some sparkle.  Since I can't leave well enough alone I stamped a swirly pattern using Zoya Ziv.  

Ziv stamped surprisingly well.  I really hope you all enjoyed this mani.  Big thanks to Pam for having me today.  I hope you all have an amazing day!

Sara

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

Guest Post Series; with xoxo Jen

 Good afternoon lovelies!!! Can you believe that August is half way over?!!? I am still waiting for summer to start here. It's been a crazy year here at the Girly Bits Headquarters and I just don't know where the time goes, but as they say; time flies when you're having fun!!

Today I am happy to share with you a guest post by Jen, of xoxoJen, showing a gorgeous collection of blue polishes, which is one of my favourite shades by the way. Never too much bloooooooo!

Jen's blog always has a wide array of swatches from many different indie brands, and she also has a LIST on her blog that she regularly updates with links to the zillion different indie shops.

Anyhoo... on with the pretty!! Thank you so much Jen!! xoxo ( see what I did there? hehe)

Hi there! I'm excited to be Pam's guest today and I was honored when she invited me to share some of my swatches! If xoxo, Jen is new to you then you should know that I enjoy both indie and mainstream polishes. Polish is my passion, and everything I do, I do with love which is why I chose my email signature as my blog name! I also love the color purple, lime green and Giant Pandas! Its my dream to some day get to see a Giant Panda in person. Wouldn't that be awesome? Anywho - let's talk polish, shall we? Spring to Winter or day to night, there is one color that I always reach for but in different shades - and that is blue. It goes with just about everything and has a happy calming effect. Zoya Blu is a barely blue pastel, just like a bright springtime sky. My friend Connie introduced me to this color during our recent meetup and I had to have my own bottle. For the following swatches I wore two coats with topcoat. The formula for this polish is pretty amazing for a pastel blue. Most of the time, a blue like this is streaky and globby/thick. Zoya Blu is none of that - perfectly smooth and easy to work with. Sugar Rush!! Just what we get in the midst of summer with all the goodies like ice cream, popcicles, lemonade and a bluer sky! This Sinful Colors polish is also a favorite of mine for this shade of blue. Its fairly easy to apply (not as awesome as the zoya!), not too streaky but I did need that third coat to even it out just right. This would look great with little clouds painted or stamped on, don't ya think? Most Sinful is a very vibrant blue which is not a sky shade but is absolutely stunning! I don't think there is anything in nature this color but its a great summer polish and would work nicely for fall as well! Most Sinful from the Sinful Shine collection is nothing short of an amazing polish. It glides on all by itself! Minimal clean up and its opaque in one coat, although I'm a little bit of a sperg and did two coats. It doesn't have to be top coated because it shines like crazy, but again - I am a creature of habit so I used a top coat! What would a day full of polish be without the night? One of my favorite dark vampy blues is Illamasqua Phallic. Its a one coater, but I used two. Its a top coat eater which I didn't realize until after I shot the photos and the polish had cured a little longer. Phallic really has depth to it and the tiny shimmers are so pretty, like little stars twinkling. Its got the "glowy middle/dark edge" thing going on too, which I love! If you enjoyed this entry please come and visit me over at xoxojen.com

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

New shades, behind the scenes, and a restock

I so wish that I could spend more time updating the blog, and sharing the craziness going on behind the scenes.

I have just restocked the store, and once these have sold out I will be closed while we prepare for the next release. I have been trying to keep the store continually stocked, but we have been experiencing a fairly high volume of orders recently, and I don't want to get too far behind. Shipping has been far more efficient lately, with an average turn around time of 3-5 days. We ship Monday to Friday excluding holidays.

Click here to order Girly Bits from my shop.


I do want to share with you some of the newest additions to the core line. You might have seen this on my facebook page recently. I have two new shades that are a memorial tribute to a young man who recently graduated high school with my daughter.

Here is the story-


Saturday, July 21st, our community was shocked, and deeply saddened by the sudden and unexplained death of a local teen, Brady Rogers. Brady and his closest friends and family were at his home celebrating his high school graduation when Brady collapsed and died.
His close knit circle of friends have been reeling ever since, searching for answers, and trying to comfort one another. Brady was larger than life in spirit, personality, and even in his 6'4 red haired, blue eyed frame. He was one of those kids who left an impression on everyone who's path he crossed. He loved his friends and family deeply and wasn't afraid to show it.
Brady's friends have spent the better part of the week, creating tributes to Brady in the form of orange ribbons and posters which they painted the town with, especially along the funeral route from the funeral home, to the community center where a service for Brady was held, with a full house of 700+ people.
My daughter came to me on Monday, asking if I could create a polish, in Brady's memory, and donate the proceeds to the Brady Rogers Memorial Bursary Fund at Kingsville District High School, which he graduated from just weeks before. I told her if she and her friends came up with a colour inspiration, and a name, I could have it done in time for them to wear to the funeral service on Wednesday. They all agreed- a sparkly blue, like Brady's eyes. The name? Roger That. (his twitter name)

Consider it done.

Mackenzie and I paid a visit to Brady's parents- Mark and Susanne Rogers, and left them with 55 bottles of Roger That, to be sold for $10 each, with 100% of the gross proceeds going to Brady's Bursary.

All 55 were immediately purchased, with many requests for more. I have donated 100 bottles to the family, with 100% of the money from those sales going into the fund. I have also poured more and I will continue to offer the polish on my site, for the retail price of $12.50, with $5.00 from every bottle sold going to Brady's Bursary.

I have since released the companion polish to Roger That, called Gentle Ginger. It was inspired by Brady's ginger red hair, and his gentle nature.
As with Roger That, $5 from each sale of Gentle Ginger will be donated to the bursary fund.

 

 And just for fun, here are a few shots of a batch of Gentle Ginger being poured, to go to the local businesses.

Thanks for visiting!

♥Pam♥

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

SlapDash ~ New collection

Good Friday afternoon!!

I have been so absent from the blog, and I miss is terribly. Of course my absence is due to furiously mixing and pouring and shipping. I can not thank you all enough for your amazing support, and I feel very blessed to be able to share my passion with you. It's been an amazing experience so far, and I am looking forward to what the future brings. We have many new things in store here at the house of Girly Bits.

Speaking of 'We', I would also like to give a HUGE thank you to Tara, my new employee, assistant, co-worker. She has been the sanity to my craziness, and I would be lost with out her. I am forever grateful to have her on board along with you, on this journey, following my gut and my heart, learning things along the way, never looking back, and having no regrets.

Thank you! ♥

Now. on to pics of the new collection!!

SlapDash Collection ~ Summer 2012

 SlapDash consists of 5 summer brights, all in a jelly finish, with shimmer and glass fleck.

 

Jelly Shoes is a fantastically bright hot pink, with a wicked pink/purple shifting shimmer. Totally tubular.

 

This is three coats, no undies.

 

 

 Banana Hammock is a medium yellow, that lies somewhere in between lemon and banana. Or perhaps two lemons and a banana? *rim shot*...Thank you, I'll be here all week =)
It has a gorgeous green shimmer, that is on the shy side

 This is three good coats, no undies.

As with most yellows, this one requires patience to apply, but it is worth it.

 

 Glo worm is a bright neon lime green with a fabulous golden yellow shimmer.

 

This is three coats, no undies.

 

 

Arctic Sunrise is a Sky Blue with fantastic pink shimmer that is not shy at all! I created this last year, and never found the right time to release it until now.

 Thank you to Amy at I'm Feeling Nail-Venturous, for her gorgeous swatch. You can see her other swatches of Girly Bits on her BLOG by clicking HERE.

 

Thank you yo Karine at Nailderella for the use of her swatch of Arctic Sunrise. 

 

 Cu Blue is a deep indigo, true jelly, with loads of copper shimmer that are not shy to come out and play.
If you are curious about the name- Cu is the elemental name for copper.

 

Three coats, no undies.

 

These are available on my store, as well as Llarowe.

My Facebook page  has the most up to date info on re-stocks, and other places you can buy Girly Bits.

At this point, I am trying to keep my distributors as well stocked as I can, and when I have them available in my store, I am trying to keep the inventory cap off, so their should not be an issue with a cart hold.

Our turnaround time is currently about 3 days, excluding weekends and holidays.

Thank you for looking!

♥Pam♥

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

Lynnderella Thank Blue! over Avon Splendid Blue

I am sure most of you have seen that Lynn posted bottle shots and swatches of her latest collection, Lovely is as Lovely does?
It  looks quite beautiful to me, and I will be placing and order for a few lovelies for sure.
So, it seemed fitting to share a picture of a Lynnderella with you today. This is Thank Blue! Which is among my favourites of hers. I layered it over Avon Splendid Blue, which is also an amazing colour. In fact, most of the Avons I have, are wonderful

 This is Avon Splendid Blue, which is totally worth owning. The application and pigmentation is great, and the price is right.

 

And the obligatory bottle shot of Lynnderella Thank Blue!

 

Thank Blue! over Splendid Blue.

If you are thinking of ordering from Lynn, I would definitely recommend this one.

Thanks for looking

♥Pam♥

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets

Girly Bits- Cosmic Ocean

Sometimes a polish needs no introduction. This is one of those times.

I will say this was one of the most difficult polishes to capture, so I have a mix of camera and iPhone pictures, and none of them show the incredible beauty that Cosmic Ocean truly is. These are all the same mani, in different lighting.

The duochrome on Cosmic Ocean is truly stunning.

This is Cosmic Ocean layered over one coat of Wet n Wild black creme. 

(which by the way, is the best black creme polish you will find for less than $15)

Cosmic Ocean is now available. I will be accepting orders through the holidays, but I will only be processing and shipping until December 20th. I will resume shipping the first week of January. No one will be asked to pay for an order until it is ready to ship.

Please click on the tab at the top of the page, for ordering info and pricing.

Thanks for looking!

♥Pam♥

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

Blog Gadgets