Shout Out to Dad’s – Winstonia Plates 103 &107 and Konad M48

Hello Beauties!

Take Three!

I’ve been thinking about what to do for Father’s Day. I wanted to do a manicure that honored fathers. I’ve been scouring my image plates for weeks and really didn’t find anything that really sang for me. So instead, I decided to pay homage to my own father. This one’s for you, Daddy!

My dad and I both love to gamble. We go to Vegas together about once a year for his bowling sweepers at the end of his bowling season. We’ve done that for close to 15 years, hence the black jack and royal flush. We also love to watch sports together. We’re Lakers and Angels fans, and we’re causal followers of football as well. So that explains the sports images. Finally, when I think of family bbq, I think about my dad. We had many family bbqs in his backyard by the pool. Memories of him over the grill are both fond and plentiful.

For a final twist, I was interested in trying out the half moon manicure. I wasn’t wild about it when I first started, but it’s growing on me. I’m kind of stepping out of the boundaries on this one. First the half moon, and also the white polish is a) not in my color palette, and b) really outside the norm for me.

So here’s what I did:

I started with Qtica Natural Nail Growth Stimulator as a base coat.
I followed that with two coats of Revlon Brilliant Strength Hypnotize. I followed that with a quick drying top coat and let it dry.
I then placed hole reinforcers at the base of my nails to create the half moon leaving an accent nail on each hand (see below for notes on this step). I applied two coats of OPI Apline Snow. I followed that with a quick drying top coat and let it dry.
I then applied an image to each nail.
I finished up by cleaning up the cuticles and applying a quick drying top coat.

The end result was not good. The half moons didn’t really turn out looking like anything, and the bbq image on my left hand was indiscernible. The bbq image is a pattern of bbq grills, and grilling utensils in white. I wanted to wear the manicure for a few days, to really honor my dad, so I decided to fix it. I painted in the half moons with the white polish. And I stamped a single bbq grill on top of the patterned bbq image so that I stood out more. The fix looks clumsy so I’ll probably re-do it tonight. But at least dad got to see it.

Not my best work, but that’s why I call myself the novice. I’m learning! If nothing else, my dad will get the thought behind it all. And as they say, it’s the thought that counts!

My dad, these days, isn’t much interested in gifts on Father’s Day. He just likes a nice card that says “I appreciate you.” After so many years, I don’t know how many ways I can say that everything I accomplish in life, I do standing on his shoulders. He has been such an amazing support. I owe him so much. So this week, when people ask about the meaning behind my manicure, I’ll be delighted to share about my dad. Thanks, Daddy!

P.S. I re-did this manicure with white French tips. But the images didn’t stamp well on the bare nail beds (forgot to take pictures). So I re-did it again. In my third attempt, I went with a gold on white French manicure so that the images would stand out.