My New Obcession....

As it goes, I have a new hobby.

I have discovered the glory that is Konad Stamping.

 And yes I know, it rhymes with gonad.

Get your giggles out now..... I'll wait.

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Ok, now we can get back to Konad. Konad is a fingernail stamping system that paints intricate details on your nails! It is so friggin easy and makes me look super talented. I still do some by hand, but the nail polish stamps are a real time saver!

1. Paint over the silver plate with special thick konad polish

2. Scrape off extra paint

3. Transfer pattern to rubber stamp

4. Stamp on the nail

5. Put Konad clear top coat on to secure the design

Easy stuff! A lot of people ask if it is worth buying the "special konad polish" and the answer is yes. Konad polish is super thick and very opaque. This is an important factor to keep in mind because the layer of polish you are actually stamping on your nail is so thin. I've tried it with regular polish and it does not come out as detailed or you just barely can see it at all. I also will say that it is worth getting the special konad top coat. I've tried various top coats on the stamps and they always smear. The special top coat is so thick that it doesn't run the design. I've not even noticed it taking longer than usual for the polish to dry. I will say that if you do a full nail covering design that you will need to clean things up with a q-tip and some fingernail polish remover, because you will get some on your finger.

Here are some photos of my nails with Konad:

Lisa Frank style Cheetah Print Konad

Blue Dots Konad

White Argyle over blue

Black Fishnet Konad over red

I got my Konad stuff (stamper, scraper, top coat, 2 plates, and the black, white, and blue "special" polish) from http://www.wowsocool.com/ . It sounds like a lame site, but shipping was free for orders over $20 (and orders will be over $20) and stuff is pretty reasonably priced. Almost everything is $6.

If you have any questions or comments just let me know!!!!

Degree Required?

All my life people have told me I was good at art. This can be a heady thing until you realize that art isn't exactly math. There is no right or wrong answer and it is totally based on opinion and emotion.

There are three levels of artist in my mind:

• The Non-Artistic-  This doesn't mean this person is totally incapable of art, but this is the person who is maybe better with a keyboard than a sketch pad. This person is good at stick figures and basic doodles (generally doodling the same 2 or 3 images).

• The Jack Artist- This person is your general "Jack of all trades, master of none". This is the one that maybe showed promise as an artist as a child but never pursued it, or tried all forms of art and only became pretty good at each (never really perfecting a specific talent). The Jack is also usually the person you find at most arts and crafts fairs.

• The Artist- Art not only defines this person, but oozes from their very core. This is the person that can sketch a picture that at a glance (or longer) seems to be a black and white photo taken with a high resolution camera. This isn't to say that you have to do realism to be an artist, I merely used it as an example. The Artist could make a living off selling their art (whether they choose to or not).

Ladies and Gentlemen.... I am a classic Jack Artist. Good enough to be considered "the artsy one" among friends and family, but not awesome enough to brag about it in good conscience.

I started college as an Art Education Major, and I was excited about learning and becoming a better artist. I discovered by my second semester that majoring in it may not have been the best idea for me. I was told that no matter what I did it looked like it was out of a Disney movie. I was also told by my teacher, "I don't believe your apple" even though I was quite proud of the shaded apple I had drawn. I changed majors several times unofficially in college and ended up with a degree in Recreation and Leisure Services with a minor in Dance. Turns out I didn't have to major in art to be a starving artist. I do wish I would have stuck with the Art major, but I would rather love it as a hobby than hate it as a major/career.