New Year - New Mani

Happy New Year, Kitschies!  It's been a while since I was 'round these parts.  I've been so bad about posting and reading blogs over the last few weeks.  Hopefully things will return to normal now that the holidays are over.  Speaking of the holidays...how were yours?  Was Santa good to you?  My boys had a great haul from Santa - Nate got his first bike (complete with training wheels) and Mason got a construction site play set with a remote controlled car.  It's been so much fun watching them play with their new toys...they really are spoiled.  Over the last few days, the boys have been trading stomach viruses...definitely not a good thing.  Today I'm home with them both and Nate's been up since 3:30 this morning with a yucky tummy and Mason's mad because I cut the tip off all his binkies.  It's going to be a long day.

ANYway...

I did my first new mani of the year last night AND I decided to trim all my nails so I could start fresh for the new year.  I knew right away I was going to use Zoya Alegra on my toes, but I couldn't decide what to use on my fingers.  I knew if I asked Nate for his input, he'd pick the most sparkly polish I had, so I asked the hubs to pick.  I reorganized my Helmer and other storage drawers yesterday so all he had to do was open one drawer to browse my untrieds (I have a lot more untrieds than I realized).  He decided on SH Xtreme Wear Gunmetal.  I was a little surprised at that choice, but I went with it.

Once I applied it, I wasn't all that excited about it.  It's a pretty color (reminds me of a black pearl), but it's a little too frosty for my taste.  So, I went digging through my BM plates and found a design I thought would work and I am *very* happy with my result!

SH Xtreme Wear in Gunmetal - 3 coats.  I used BM-210 and Orly Luxe for the stamping. 

I impressed myself with this combo.  LOL  It's pretty subtle but it's really classy.  It's best viewed in low light and that's why this picture didn't so up as good - it was taken in bright, direct sunlight.

The longer I see this color, the more it grows on me.  I doubt I would wear Gunmetal on its own, but as a base for stamping, it worked really well.  I love it when an idea comes together when you don't think it will.

Happy 2012!  I wish you all a great year and thanks for hanging with me for so long.  I'll be around more in the coming weeks.  Promise.