40 Great Nail Art Ideas: Week 1 Hobbies

I have joined another nail art challenge!  Another great one hosted by Crumpet's Nail Tarts.  I am challenging myself to the one-a-week prompt style.  I typically post manis on Monday, so this'll be an adjustment for me at first.  This week's prompt is hobbies!

Now, I consider myself to have many hobbies.  Crafting has always been my number one, but since I'm living with my parents that's kind of gone on the backburner due to space constraints (and them not being fans of how much room it takes)... plus I wasn't sure how to do nail art on that.  I enjoying cooking and baking, but, there again, haven't been really able to do that since this isn't my house.  I'm slowly getting to where make-up *might* be a hobby; nail polish definitely is, but I have a feeling plenty of other manis will be about that.  And then there's a few hobbies I've mine I've let go dormant: photography, scrapbooking, crocheting....

However, the thing I am most passionate about is animal advocacy: I could easily do it as a full time job.  I currently volunteer for my friend's rescue as well as dedicate my time to being a helicopter mom to three kitties.  I am also the random weirdo in your local pet store teaching you (and sometimes the employees!) about proper pet care while shopping.  While this might not be considered a traditional "hobby," it IS what I am most passionate about right now.  And I could come up with some nail art for it. :)

I used three untrieds from my A Box, Indied stash to create this mani: Pahlish Fields of Gold (March 2015), Contrary Polish When in Rome (Aug 2015), and Different Dimension Witch & Famous (Oct 2015).  In conjunction with some white polish as well as cat vinyl decals I purchased from What's Up Nails, I created a mani inspired by the colorings of my three adorable furbabies.  This came out a little more Halloweenie than I intended, but that's bound to happen when I'm working with polishes I haven't tried on before this.  Also when what's in your head doesn't translate as well as one hoped.

I had some difficulty applying the Contrary Polish.  I am not sure if this is due to it not liking my basecoat or that is simply its consistency.  I have had this issue in the past with Contrary Polish.  While the first coat is streaky and drags, the second coat evens things out.  The Different Dimension I had no difficulties with, although I'm not sure how I feel about the bigger brush.  Pahlish is a brand I'm already familiar with and have quite the stash already, whereas Contrary and DD I'm newly introduced through ABI.

Tell me in the comments below what you think!  And let me know what your favorite hobby is that would inspire your nail art mani!

 pinkie = Maddie

ring = Brandon

middle = Annabelle

pointer is a fun decal :)

Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with the polish brands mentioned above.  All opinions are my own.  Polishes were purchased by me for my own personal usage.

An InLinkz Link-up

Monday Mani: Only You and Wind's Indecision by Pahlish

Two beautiful handmade polishes are featured today from indie maker Pahlish, a 5-free polish small business located in Arkansas.  I debated about going for a monochromatic look with Only You, but decided to do tips with Wind's Indecision because it's so beautiful, and later regretted not doing monochromatic with each because they're just SO gorgeous.  These photos show one day of tip wear, and I have been impressed so far with their resilience.

Only You is a soft rose pink linear holographic with rose-gold and metallic gold microflakes.  The camera captured the pink more easily than the microflakes so I had some difficulty getting to color accuracy.  It is simply a stunning color in all lights.  Even though the description doesn't speak to holo, I swear there must be because there is so much sparkle to it when the light hits it!

Wind's Indecision is a bright blue soft holographic with a mix of pink, gold, and electric blue flakes. Wind's Indecision is one of their Special Editions celebrating Pahlish's third anniversary. It was inspired by the Pahlish classic "Train Underwater" using an updated twist.  Blue is my favorite color so of course I was all over this one.  Now, I only did the tips so I can't fully speak to its awesomeness until I do a full mani with it, but by gosh is this color beautiful.

I initially didn't have application issues with Only You, but started to when I got to my other hand.  However, I think I didn't shake my bottle up enough or something so the difficulties with application may be due to user error.  After all, it is chock full of flakes and sometimes those suckers can be difficult when applying or settle together in the bottle.  No problems with Wind's Indecision.

In the shade outside - Only You bottle shot

In the shade outside - Wind's Indecision bottle shot

Under direct sunlight outdoors

Monday Mani is about realistically showcasing beautiful indie polishes that I've purchased.  So many swatches out there are captured under lighting that we simply don't use every day.  (I typically am not admiring my nails under Ott lights.)  My goal is to show mani's under typical lighting and wearing conditions so you can decide if the beauty is right for you or not.

Disclaimer:  All reviews and opinions are my own.  Products were purchased with my own money.  No affiliation with Pahlish or its products.