Watercolor Blossoms Manicure

Super regal, super detailed, super cool.

These intricate nails surely make a statement! Thanks to Born Pretty Store and their vast selection of nail art wraps, rhinestones, paints, foils, decorations and more, I was able to create a totally unique manicure that is perfect for parties or events. I would say this manicure takes more time than most, but it's definitely worth it.

Let's get started.

Step 1: Gather materials. Needed are white nail polish, crystal nail gems, Born Pretty Blue Flower nail decals, Born Pretty Silver Decals and Born Pretty Rhinestone 3D Decoration. I also used clear varnish for a top coat- China Glaze Nail Polish, White On White, 0.5 Ounce.

Start by painting all your nails white. On the index, ring and pinkie finger, apply the full-nail blue flower water decals. For info on how to apply water decals, see my previous Royal Teal Nail Tutorial.

Apply the silver decal over the ring finger's blue flower decal. Add a clear crystal with nail glue, and cover with clear varnish to finish. Coat the index and pinkie with clear varnish as well. Add two silver decals to the thumb, and then add a crystal to finish. Coat with clear varnish.

On the middle finger, add nail glue and apply the large 3D decoration.

Lovin' it, right??! Born Pretty is the go-to one-stop-shop for all of your nail art and beauty needs. I love their full-nail water decal wraps, which save you time hand painting and always look perfect. They are also easy to apply. I just put the whole decal on, then waited for it to dry. Cut the excess off with a cuticle cutter or small scissors to fit your nail. These blue flowers here remind me of watercolor paintings. When contrasted with the ornate 3D decoration and rhinestones, you have a winning combination. These 3D decorations really only work if you have long nails. They will not fit on smaller, shorter nails. Also, they need a lot of nail glue to stay on. They are quite heavy, so be careful and don't expect them to stay on past a day. That's why these nails are more "event-ready" instead of everyday!

Style these with a black oversized sweater, skinny denim, a long crystal necklace and sweet shades. Rockin' it!!

I have a coupon code here for all those who want to shop Born Pretty. Use this code HXSQ10 to get 10% off your order. Born Pretty also always offers free shipping, what could be better than that???! Shop away girls!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. DO NOT post/use images without linking back and crediting me.

Birds of a Feather Manicure

Purples and golds and sparkles.

This nail tutorial is all about elegance; these gold feather decals just add that fine detailed look. Unexpected vitrail-finished crystal flat backs also add a modern vibe. I think I am obsessed with the vitrail look; that multicolored metallic-looking finish that's becoming more popular these days. It's an edgier version of a traditional crystal.

This manicure was made possible with supplies from nail art and beauty superstore Born Pretty. This store has everything and anything you need to update your entire look! From gems, decals and polishes to jewelry, clothing and more, be sure to check them out online.

If you are interested, I've got an exclusive coupon for y'all.

Use the code HXSQ10 on Born Pretty Store to get 10% off your order! With free shipping, you can't beat their selection. The prices are great as well. Most nail art supplies are around $2, which is my kind of price! You can get lost shopping on their site….seriously.

Let's get to the tutorial.

Step 1: Gather materials. I am using Born Pretty Peacock Gold Feather Decals Item Id 13673 and Born Pretty Rhinestone Wheel Id 14724. I also used gold shimmer polish, nail glue, black nail polish, purple nail polish and clear coat. I painted all my nails black except for the index and pinkie (yes, it shows black here, but paint the pinkie gold. I changed my mind!). Paint the pinkie gold and the index purple. 

On your black nails, use Born Pretty Sponges to get a gold gradient. Simply paint the edge of the sponge with a bit of gold and dab at the bottom of your nails to get a gold dusted look. On your index finger, take the large feather decal and apply. These are water decals; for more info on how to use these, view my Royal Teal manicure.

On the ring finger, apply the smaller feather decal.

On the Pinkie, simply use nail glue to apply three Born Pretty gems in a line down your nail. Press down and let dry. I also added one bigger gem to the index finger, placing it on the middle of the feather decal. When everything is dry, simply finish with top coat.

Purple and gold is a classic combination, standing for royalty. The addition of black is my touch, as you all know its my favorite color. If you don't like that gothic touch, you could do a darker purple with gold, omitting the black.

This works great with all nail sizes. As you can see, mine are way shorter than they have been. Sadly my long nails have broke, forcing me to start from scratch. I always think darker colors look better on short nails, hence the palette. You could switch up the colors to fit your style! The peacock feather decals also come in silver, and Born Pretty's rhinestones come in all colors. A baby blue/silver /white combination would be really pretty, or go girly with neutral polish, gold decals and Born Pretty Pearls.

The possibilities are endless!

Sophisticated yet stylish!

I find that these water decals are so easy to use, especially because they can be repositioned while still wet to get the perfect fit. If you were using a sticker, you'd be stuck with where it was placed first. I would recommend water decals to anyone!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. DO NOT use/post without linking to me and crediting me!

Raise.com "Closet Swap"-Summer 2014 Trend

Sun's out, weather's nice, it's finally time for some sweet summer fashion. And with summer fashion comes summer shopping. I stumbled upon a new website called Raise.com where you can buy and sell gift cards to your favorite stores. Have an old gift card to a store you really don't like? Raise.com makes it easy for you to list and sell these cards, and make money to buy new ones to your most beloved places! The gift cards for sale here are all listed at a discounted price, and the gift cards are for all types of store categories, including restaurants, electronics, clothing, pets and more.  I was asked to be a part of Raise.com's "Closet Swap" campaign, highlighting my favorite look for summer while familiarizing you all with the site. I've styled and photographed my favorite type of outfit here, and I've added some tips on how to replicate the look. A special thanks to my model, Karlee D. 

My favorite look this summer is an easy-breezy bohemian look. I'm lovin' an easy piece like a strapless dress in a bold, bright color as the base. Offset that flowy silhouette with edgy strappy heels to ground the outfit, and provide contrast. To finish off, it's all about the right accessories. Layer strands of long necklaces for a totally boho-glam look that won't weight the rest of the outfit down. A gold minimal cuff completes the look by adding shine and a modern vibe. It's like a romantic-modern-bohemian-edgy twist, which seems like too much, but it works. The trick is to keep a solid-color dress to prevent it from looking busy.

These necklaces you can actually make yourself, as they are part of my Crystal Amulet necklace collection. View the tutorial here. What's great about these layering necklaces is that they are lightweight but still pack sparkle and shine factor with the crystals and rhinestones. Gold cuff by Generation Bliss. Also, using these blue and earth toned necklaces keeps the look more sophisticated!

Of course, an almost messy-wavy hairstyle is the way to go. Minimal makeup here with just a bit of eyeliner. It keeps the look from being to overworked and shows that you don't need to spend forever on hair and makeup to have a rockin' summer vibe! I think this look is casual enough to go shopping but also chic enough to attend a summer party! What do you think?!

Photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not use/post images without crediting me and linking back.

Blues Bouquet Nails

The moody blues are feelin' floral.

I've got here a vintage-inspired manicure using Born Pretty's rose nail decals, plus extra glitter and polka dots.

The bottom base blue is IBD Just Gel Blue Haven.  

After being somewhat skeptical to gel polishes, now they are the ONLY kind I wear. My nails do not break, even through me making jewelry and other crafty items.

The rose decal here adds the right amount of vintage touch. This same decal sheet also comes in a red/orange and purple scheme. And it's only $2.39 for the whole sheet….

Nothing is complete without glitter. The glitter here is from Claire's.

And of course my obsession with the double-sided manicure. I went simpler this time with a purple-pink color underneath, to match with the purple rose decals. Last time, I did a pop of neon yellow but this manicure called for something more subtle.

A vintage purse completes the look!

All photos copyright Allison Beth Cooling. DO NOT use/post images without linking back and crediting me.

Christmas in July- Cousin 'Tis the Season Part 1

It's holiday time…..

Wha-wha-what?!! It's almost July, which means it's time for a little "Christmas in July" cheer. I've got a roundup of 5 projects I've created with a sampling of the NEW Cousin Tis the Season 2014 line. This picture above IS NOT from the new 2014 collection; I'm just totally forgot to take pictures when I had the products, silly me. The new line is going to be available at Cousin.com and craft stores like Michael's and JoAnn. Get ready for all-new packaging and products that will totally have you inspired to get crafting. From bead strands, charms and bells to pendants and more, check your local craft store starting July 1st for the new lineup.

I've got project #1 on this post. During the week, I'll post the others, so check back often.

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Project #1: "All Wrapped Up" Phone Cases

-You can really use any of the Tis the Season products, but I'll just show you what I used-

-Materials:

-Blank Phone Case

-Wrapping paper

-ModPodge, nail polish, clear varnish

-Paintbrushes

-Cousin 'Tis the Season: 

(Red Case) Gold Snowflake/Tree Charm pack, Button Tree charm pack.

(Green Case) Metal 3 Charm pack

-White Ribbon

-E6000 Glue

Directions: Simply decide on a good arrangement for your case. Start by cutting the proper size piece of wrapping paper and adhering it to the case with ModPodge (I roughed the surface of the case up a bit with fine sandpaper to help it adhere better). Make sure to rub gently to make sure all the bubbles get out. For the red case, I then sealed the piece of wrapping paper by painting over with clear gloss glaze. I took apart the tree button Cousin pack and glued all the buttons with E-6000 glue. Then, I added gold glitter nail polish around the buttons. I clipped the charm top off the big gold tree and glued it down again. Finally, I glued the star bead from the button pack to the top of the tree.

For the green case, I simply added a whole background of wrapping paper, sealing and then gluing the charm and one white button from the button tree pack. I finished by making small ribbon bows and gluing them to the top of each "ornament".

The possibilities here are endless; if you'd rather not do a full-Christmas theme, pick any holiday and run with it. Also, any size phone case will work; try your iPod case too!

Copyright Allison Beth Cooling- do not post/use tutorial or pictures without linking back.

Gypsy Gems Headband

I'm loving these Beadmixer rhinestones!

I've decided to make some gypsy-style bohemian headbands, and it couldn't have been easier.

All I had to do was buy the rhinestones and settings from Beadmixer. Simply glue the 8mm rhinestones in the 8mm settings. Connect the sides with jump rings and then add chain for the back of your head.

For the blue rhinestone headband, I added red teardrop rhinestones  in-between the other chat on (the circular ones) rhinestones. 

These are so easy to make, there is no need for a tutorial! Plus, Beadmixer has a lot of great colors and you can get silver findings if you like silver better than gold.

Be sure to check out the Beadmixer site, ESPECIALLY if you love to use vintage rhinestones.

You can also connect with Beadmixer through their:

Blog

Facebook Page

Pinterest 

Subscribe to their Newsletter

Wear one at a time, or layer up for serious boho sparkle!

All copyright Allison Beth Cooling. Do not post/use without linking back to me!