acrylic medium; to use or not to use

i was asked tonight if i used acrylic medium in my paints. acrylic medium is a clear gel that allows the acrylic paint that i paint with to not dry so fast...it is really a great product for people who paint slowly.....


i live in oregon and paint doesnt dry up very fast, in fact, it will stay workable all day long. in nevada, however, i sometimes DO have to use a bit off medium in my paint when i am doing very small portrait type of designs....you need your paint pliable and workable and nevada is just just very unforgiving with acrylic paint. you put it on the palette and it is DRY!!!

so, it depends on your climate. if you are finding every single thing you are doing is drying up, either water down your paints a little or try a medium...its very inexpensive and might help a lot for slower painters....if you do use them, realize that when it does dry it might get a little 'rubbery' and some of your paintings might 'peel' ....if you find this happening, it might be the medium......thank you so much for the great question and i hope this helps anyone trying to decide whether or not to try a medium :) have a great night

robin

First Bloom

Hi all, last Sunday, me and my family went out, guess what? I bought some nail stuff.. some of them are my lemmings like etude house and acrylic paint, I also bought some stuff from ebay.. Btw, here's my NOTD, my first try using acrylic paint.. Do you like it? I named it "First Bloom", love the outcome of my design, the color of it is very lively.. I used acrylic paint as base coat,and drew a flower on the corner tip of my nails, then I added some dots.. and last I used wet n' wild Black Magic as top coat... everytime I look at it, it feels like I'm in a garden filled with flowers. Look how pretty the flower is.. I like them! Hope you also will.. ^.^

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!

a question about pigments

question: I have been looking on ebay at the pigments and just wondered what you thought of the pigments from china/hong kong..are they any good??

 

answer: what i like......are textures..you will see what i mean..the thicker, shinier pigments will 'crack up' more...some do not go back to 'flat' the "silkier" the texture.....and the finer the grain will give you a more flawless grad...ient and also crack up less with the top coat......remember to wait a bit and it should all settle back down..it is some kind of small chemical reaction where sometimes...it just happens and sometimes it doesnt...but, dont give up because once you get the feel of it, it really is worth the effect to keep going. good luck!!!! i would test each new pigment on yourself first and topcoat it and see what happens to each pigment individually on with your topcoat...some topcoats make the pigments crack more than others.......but!!! never fear..i am also going to do SO MANY tutorials on gradients etc without pigments..i just wanted to really show pigments in action for halloween!~~~~

and martine, i am going to post this comment on my blog so others can view the answer :):) thank you for asking such a good one!!! if i havent answered enough..please feel free to keep asking :) i will do my best to answer!!

Vintage Flower NOTD + Color It Red NailArt Contest

Hi all! It's a wonderful sunny Saturday! We woke up early this morning, went over to my parents' house, then just drove around all morning... I was inspired by the nice view, I felt relaxed and comfortable. Here's the mani I made, vintage flower, I love the color of this, usually I'm into abstract design, but now I'm inlove with this vintage flower I made. I also noticed that my nails grew in length faster, it's only been a month since I cut it down.. Anyway, hope you like my NOTD! Have a great weekend! God Bless!

And here's my entry for Rina Alcantara "COLOR IT RED" nail art contest you can choose 3 of your fav entry.. You can also vote for me if you like.. thanks so much in advance..

CLICK HERE to vote...

I enjoyed doing my entry, eventhough it took a lot of time to make, I got my idea from traditional chinese dress... while I was browsing the net, I stumbled upon a picture of early chinese community which gave me that certain idea.. The chinese character in the middle of my nail means "happiness"..

My second entry is "Chameleon Ring" inspired design..

Hope you like them!

a couple of sites to get the supplies you should have.

hello everyone!

so, i contacted my favoritest seller on ebay and asked i could use their name and they said i could. i buy lots of things from a seller called "papi" on ebay. they always ship fast and have never gotten my order wrong and are in US...i buy lots of things in hong kong too, but that takes a couple of weeks and i havent contacted them yet....however, papi also gave me their websites.
 

http://crafts2do.com

http://rhinstonesandcrafts.com

they told me that their supplier for foil glue is still out, but asap they will have more available and to keep checking!

(if you mention me, i get 10% off...my first discount due to my nail fabulousity..hahahahahahah!!!!!!) i hope this helps a little!

holographic glitter question :)

 Question:  In your Banksy Butterfly video, you talked about using holographic glitter in that design. Is there any way that you can tell me the name of the glitter you used and where you purchased it? I've been looking both on and offline for that and have been unable to find it anywhere!


 


Answer:  mine has no brand..it just says halloween glitter (this time) i checked really quick, but i buy it in different ways all the time.

i know mac makes a silver 3d glitter. you can check any halloween costume store, any craft store. i have seen it in the glitter sections of some make up sections of the beauty supply store and department stores. the actual "nail polish" of holographic glitter is called "northern lights" and it is mixed with clear polish for you, but it is very expensive and you have to keep shaking it. i would search on ebay for "3D glitter/hologram glitter/rainbow glitter..........check with all the workers at the craft stores and have them order it for you (along with foiling glue).........3d glitter comes in tubes, little flat packages, bottles....every which kind of way...i know on ebay i come across it a lot when i am looking for nail art supplies like rhinestones...:) good luck and i hope this helps

they also have 3D gold glitter in MAC too.....its about 30 bucks

i paid 3.99 for mine at halloween time in the make up section at rite aide (start stacking up on glitters now when you see them come available, because i use them a lot in tutorials! haaahahaahhahahahaha!!!!) i hope this helps! it sucks not being able to find things.

Blue Wave + Antique Cherry Blossom

From the vault. Hope you like them! =)

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