The Handmade Perspective: Monday Mani: #fightforlightandlive and Girly Bits

Yesterday afternoon I discovered the #fightforlightandlive and #depressionawareness mani movement on Facebook. Being a mental health professional first and foremost, I didn't want to miss out on participating. I figured better late than never!

I had just opened up my three Mystery Bags from an exclusive sample sale for group members that handmade indie polish maker Girly Bits ran earlier this month. The bags contained OOAKs, Oops, Prototypes, Testers, Discontinueds, and the like. Among them was a beautiful green/purple holo duochrome (if I'm guessing correctly) and I thought it perfect to try out since it was a newbie and green.

While I had some application and drying issues - an anticipated risk of mystery samples - that affected clean up and appearance, it is quite the lovely color. If the application issues were worked out (which may be the reason it didn't make it into production), I think this prototype would turn into a huge hit! Next time I think I will build with super thin coats as I think I was a little overzealous with my painting. This is two semi-thick coats with Zoya's Anchor and Armor.

Sadly, my camera was NOT cooperating with capturing the purple side of it. When I walk into full sun, it turns into a full blown muted purple shade and the holo lights up. While the naked eye can clearly see it, my camera clearly cannot. Which is SO unfortunate because I wish I could easily show you how dynamic a color this is! Instead, I tried my best with different lighting and angles in hopes of highlighting its beauty.

Post in the comments below what you think of the color! And, please, help fight stigma surrounding mental illness and become an advocate for changing society's perspective. Visit your local community agency or NAMI chapter, and help educate yourself and others about mental illness disorders. Together we can #stampoutstigma and be agents for change!