Nail Board things......

 I really, really wish I could have found something like this made already. I know nail wheels are awesome, but I like color swatches lined up in a row much better.

hot glue gun glue is hot 

♥ That should be name for one of my franken polish's.....just be careful whenever you use it ♥

Also if you decide to do this, and buy dollar store nails, make sure they are okay to polish, some cheap dollar store nails are NOT GOOD and will wrinkle and pucker when you apply polish to them ( why they even sell them.................... I don't know )

 When I painted these, I made sure to make an excel spreadsheet with the names of the polish and how many coats.  Eventually I plan to print them out on sticker paper and affix it to the back of each nail board thing.

I hope I sorta explained this properly I need to whip up a few more when i get more nails....I plan on doing a better job explaining with better photos....

So I would say, that this was a time consuming project. I glued 600 false nails to 1 1/2 inch by 8 inch pieces of foam board. My reason for doing things this way, was so when I open my top drawer of my Helmer or Melmer ( which I don't have....yet) these will be standing upright and I will easily be able to see all my polishes swatched. I wish I took pictures of the process = but I will be doing this again soon I just need to hop over to the Dollarama and grab more nails, though.

I also find that it will be much easier to photograph these swatches, if I add polish to these before I actually wear the polish.... by propping them up in my light box, or just a sheet of poster-board that I sometimes use.

Essentially, I cut up a piece of this lightweight foam board to the sizes I wanted and glued the nails on with a glue gun and hot glue. It was very easy but time consuming. In the evening I would just pop a movie on and go to town glue-ing. I laid the piece of foam board on a flat surface, and butted up another piece against it, so that when i applied a blob of hot glue to it and affixed the nail to the board it would stay I will work on a visual for that and when I hit the dollar store on the weekend, I may try to produce a video.

In total for 600 nails, it probably took 4 hours......however I actually enjoy these types of menial crafts and tasks, so it wasn't so bad.

I really just eyeballed where their placement was, but I suppose marking off where they should be would help to keep them spaced evenly..... as long as they stayed "straight'' to the actual board and lined up properly I am happy

Some of these nails had sharp edges, and that little bit of plastic left over from snapping them out of the mold at the factory. So I had to file most of them after they were glued down.


 below, the smaller piece of foam board I used to keep my false nails straight and prevent them from dropping off the edge of the foam board.

I butted the edges up like this, otherwise the hot glue would just make the nail dip and they would be all crooked ( dang this is hard to explain.... does any of this make sense? )

so..... see what I mean? If I hadn't used the other board to make sure the nails stayed in line, they would have 'dipped' down and been all wonky.....

My latest batch of Frankens..... ( the 'uglyies' get their own section )

oops, I should have straightened my camera out.....

These are the nails I used, I found these at Dollarama, I grabbed 6 boxes. ( I need more)

foam board from dollarrama - this comes in different colours and you can also get it at Walmart and craft stores, like Micheal's and Hobby Lobby..... 24x 28 each little piece I cut was 1 1/2 inch by 8 inches.

♥

From Cuticle Crisis to Cuticle Care

 These are ( 1/2 of ) my nail board things.....

They were super fun to make & took a long time ~  I'm very happy with them

 I couldn't have a post with out a photo - I will do a post on these soon

♥

I have read a few blogs recently with people in cuticle crisis, and have been wanting to do a post about it.


Here are a few things I do and some thoughts on the subject.


Here is the gist of this long *ss post........


♥ NO Cuticle Remover - apply blob of lotion to soften this area ( keep reading for more info on this )
♥ NO Cuticle cutting
♥ Lotion Lotion Lotion
♥ barrier cream to cuticle area AFTER lotion
♥ Use a non-dryng soap  (♥♥♥ or try to ♥♥♥)
♥ Dry hands thoroughly after washing
♥ Apply moisturizer to hands, BEFORE polish Removal
♥ Apply a good barrier cream or moisturizer to cuticle area before painting
♥ Do the lotion and glove thing overnight - you cont need fancy gloves, $1 store gloves are fine
♥ Look in the mirror every morning, and hold your hands out in front of you, with your nails facing the mirror, and say 3 times, "You're beautiful, You're amazing.... You're a Star"


Okay ~ I don't do all these things all the time, ( except the last one, that I do EVERY DAY ) but I definitely never ever use cuticle remover, and I never cut anything. I get a hangnail on my ring fingers ( BOTH!) in fall time, when that happens I just add a dab of nail glue to it, and if I have to i snip it off I do with a sharp pair of nail scissors then add a dab nail glue to it( seriously ). I have enough cuts on my hands due to my activities and clumsiness, the dread and memory of that kind of pain of cut cuticles and hangnails keeps me in line!



Firstly, cuticle remover..... what does this stuff do exactly? I know I bought some a long, long time ago, but I did not find that it did anything amazing, how is it removing your cuticles? these are questions you need to ask yourself if you use this product.


If you apply a blob of moisturizer along your nail bed, cuticles and the sides of your nails and leave it there for five minutes, the tough skin that is attached to your actual nail, will become pliable and moveable, you will be able to scrape and push away any skin with an orangewood stick or any other impliment.


I personally have not used cuticle remover creams or gels in a long time. If it is necessary, I will just slap on a  blob of any type of lotion, and allow it to sit on my nail bed and cuticles to soften the skin in this area, then gently push and move the dried layer of skin. I hardle ever do this, though. I think i lucked out by having healthy cuticles. But more than luck is I take time to take care of my cuticle everyday


 I think that with all the cooties and germs out there in the world, cuticle cutting would just be a big NO. If you have a painful hangnail, maybe snipping it off with a tiny sharp pair of manicure scissors would be ideal, then slapping on either nail glue or any another water resistant glue ( i do this all the time for small surface scratches = which i have alot of ) Cutting your cuticle will create way more problems then it will solve. I cant say I have seen any pair of hands that were so hideous I would  recommend cuticle cutting -  I think devoting time to applying good moisturizer or barrier creme to the cuticle area, will be much better in the long run then cutting the cuticle area.


If you feel that your cuticles are unruly and a horrific sight - you will likely not do any one thing today, and devote 5 minutes to it and then wake up tomorrow with super-model cuticles, sorry - it will take a while and bit more effort than that.




I am extremely interested to hear what ratio of people who use cuticle remover creams or gels, who also have alot of hang nails and cuticle problems. My belief is that these creams and gels are a mild acid, eating away at your skin, nothing good will come of that, and I would strongly encourage anyone using these products to find other ways to deal with their cuticles.


I would label myself with sensitive / dry skin, I have used some soaps that are sooooo drying, I have to wonder what is in them. If you wash your hands a thousand times a day, like me; then it's a good idea to invest in a good quality of soap. I also very rarely let my hands air dry, I try to dry them properly, and apply lotion if possible and when necessary.


I use a plain lotion from the grocery store - St Ives... something something. Nothing fancy. I think the fact that I use it often, and not the type it is =  is what is important.

Before I remove my polish I try to apply moistureizer to my hands and nail area, it makes removal a little more goo-ey-er, but this helps to prevent the drying out of my fingertips and cuticles. I sometimes where a latex glove on the other hand ( the one i am not removing polish from )


Before I apply polish, I make sure to apply Avon Moisture Therapy hand creme with a tiny brush, to the skin surrounding my nails, and take time to get it along my cuticles and under my nail tips along the free edge - a little overkill~ but I usually do an acetone clean up before I take photos, this helps me get rid of any polish mistakes alot easier, and the Avon Moisture Therapy hand creme acts as a protective barrier so the acetone doesn't sink in and dry out my cuticles and the skin around my nails.


When I apply lotion to my hands, I make sure to pack the lotion into my cuticle area, along the sides of my nail bed and try to do this often. Sometimes, I apply lotion and wear gloves over night~ Just cheap gloves from the dollarama, I have a few pairs and don't think there is anything magical about those 'moisturizing ' gloves I have seen around.

 Whew - I think thats it for now, I am sure I have a few more things to add.......