Bits & bobs

Luck of the...

...Irish!

I love getting mail - especially when it's nail related mail!

Spring flowers

Since starting this adventure into the land of blog, I've had to face up to the fact that I have little to no attention span. I think I've always had a slight inclination, but never paid attention long enough to let it sink in. That's probably why it's taken me so long to update this - and why many manicures have been and gone in the interim. I'm also not a very prolific photographer. Must try harder.

Anyway. I headed to Glasgow for St. Patrick's Day and decided on a wee Irish themed mix and match for the occasion. Nothing too - just some orange/green themed leopard prints and a dash of trusty glitter. And some flags that were nothing like Italian. Honest.

After lusting over WAH's designs for months now, I was over the moon when they released a whole book dedicated to nail art. If it's got literature dedicated to it, it must be a legitimate hobby. I settled on their rose design as my first project and I'm pretty pleased with the results. Nice and spring like...even if the weather outside doesn't quite agree...

Black tie

Glittery French tips.

Tuxedos in progress.

Black tie nails.

On Saturday night I went to a friend's graduation ball. T'was a fancy affair and so it called for some fancy fingertips.

I somehow managed to trick the graduand into cancelling her nail appointment with a qualified beautician and   to let me have a go instead. After overlooking my rainbow of a polish collect, she opted for plain old French tips - with a wee streak of glitter to match her newly acquired engagement ring.

For my own nails, I went for a set of little tuxedos, inspired by Zooey Whats-Her-Face on the red carpet for that award ceremony she went to a while back. I don't usually like wearing fake nails, but it was easier to paint these and then stick 'em on then try and keep a steady left hand. I have no idea how people wear these on a regular basis. Getting into - and consequently out of - my dress was a bit of a nightmare. Still, no loss of dexterity, no gain. As they say. 

The story so far...

Rainbow French tips with leopard highlights.

99p rainbow glitter top coat.

Glitter fades & mini-tuxedos.

Mix & match sets.

'Red or black'

Purple spots & leopards.

Rainbow sky.

Since moving out of the city and back into the country, I've felt the need for a hobby. I've also had it recommended to me on several separate occasions. Whilst tea-fuelled Jeremy Kyle marathons might be the way forward in student land, apparently that kind of behaviour just isn't acceptable in the real world. Plus it's a logistical nightmare, what with pesky work getting in the way of all the good daytime telly. I think I've even started to forget what old Jezza looks like. See. Nightmare. ANYWAY.


I know to take a hint. Initially I thought that a pet would be the ideal way to fill my free time, but that bubble was soon burst by the reminder that I failed to keep a tub of sea monkeys alive for more than six months. A bit more practice is perhaps needed before I move onto mammals. Or indeed any creature that doesn't get delivered through the post. So with no pet to spend my time and hard earned cash on, it was time to turn, naturally, to nail art.


(I'm playing fast and loose with the term 'art' here, because I can't actually draw or paint anything that isn't a stick person. I can apply different coloured dots to my finger nails though, and we know that's how all the creative greats got started.)


Now this is the twenty-first century and thus, no pastime is legitimate unless you tell the internet about it. That's how stuff works nowadays. That's where this here blog comes in. At the risk of looking a tiny bit obsessed, I've decided to venture into the world of virtual opinions and keep a record of my ever-growing collection of nail creations. Anything to save my Facebook friends from yet another claw like picture of my hands.


Incidentally, have you ever tried to take a picture of all ten of your fingernails at once. It's pretty tricky and almost always involves the help of another person. Talking of other people, I guess this is the place were I should thank my friend Darn for coming up with this blog's title. Apart from sounding a wee bit morbid it also sounds like cuticle, just like those things you've got on your nails. Get it?  Clever. He also has a blog, but it's about football and doesn't have any pictures on it, so I'm not sure it's really worth a visit...