Miss April Revealed!

Last Spring, I started taking extra special care of my nails.  I have always wanted nice nails and with a bit of patience and work, and a few dollars spent on not only good quality items to care for them, I did just that.  I also discovered OPI nail lacquer.  It's sold only in salons and it's not cheap stuff.  I decided to spend the extra on it.  I have never been disappointed!


I started photographing my painted nails.  Why?  Well, for starters, I knew that my nails could not possibly look this nice for long;  They'd all break off or I'd stop caring about them.  On the contrary;  only twice in one year has a nail completely broken off. Taking care of them, diligently, has paid off!   When I do get a tear, I now know how to save it until it grows out.  Matter of fact, I'm in that dilemma right now.  Thanks to a spare tea bag and some OPI Nail Envy Maintenance Nail Strengthener, my left middle nail is strong again (had a fight with the bathroom door and lost... sort of).

Through the wonderful powers of the internet, I found a blog that a woman out west was doing.  Her name is Colette and she writes  My Simple Little Pleasures  It is from her wonderful tutorials that she taught me (and thousands of other nail polish lovers) the lovely art of 'Water Marbling';  It's very similar to the timeless art of paper marbling that has been used for centuries to create beautiful works of art.  Open any classic piece of literature and look at the inside cover;  I bet it's paper marbled.  So, I got brave and tried it.  My very first water marble was a real mess, but I did it!  Not only had I succeeded, but I was amazed at how easy it was.  I am a person that thrives on instant gratification.  This did it!  Here is a photo of my very first attempt:  

My very first nail marbling!

Okay, so they're not consistent.  Still it worked!

I kept at it and with each marbling, I kept getting better at it.  Not only that, but it was fun!  I was having a blast!  I kept up with Colette and her tutorials. Her designs are so elegant and the colors she uses inspire me.   Soon I found others were making tutorials and though most were nowhere near as good as Colette's were, one more lady caught my eye.  I just found out that her name is Sophie!  Her cheery voice welcomes you instantly, and her bright, vibrant water marbles were screaming "TRY ME!"   The word was spreading, even 'across the pond,' about how much fun water marbling for nails was!  Here is Sophie from her "Ilovemylongnails' YouTube page, showing us her technique for water marbling: I adore Sophie; she has the sweetest greetings;  "Hello!  It's ME, again!"  Love her!

Sophie's I Love My Long Nails

Sophie's YouTube page and Colette's blog became my favorite places to visit for nail marbling tutorials.  It is such an exciting moment when I see that Colette has another swatch or tutorial uploaded.

I found that OPI had an official fan page.  Of course, I "Liked" it, immediately.  Soon I found myself bravely posting photos of my latest nail swatches.  I was taking great care of my nails by now, but even so, my nails don't grow very long.  I can't let them;  they curl.  It's not pretty.  So, I am happy when I get nice comments on my nails.  There are so many sets of lovely hands on OPI's wall!  It's a great place for inspiration!  

A few days after Easter, I did a water marble using OPI colors, exclusively.  While purple is not my favorite color, I decided on using them:  Funky Dunky, Do You Lilac It? and Funny Bunny.  They came out great.  Matter of fact, it was the best I had done to date.  So I decided to share my first water marbling photo -- taken by yours truly (not an easy task when you are trying to pose one hand and holding a huge Nikon DSLR with the other)!  This is the photo I submitted to OPI's wall:

Taken by yours truly... who knew?

As soon as this was uploaded, I became ill.  I will not go into detail, but let's just say I was in a lot of pain for most of the summer and fall and ultimately ended up having major surgery in October.  I wasn't online as much as I had been earlier on, and missed two very important messages on the OPI wall.  I happened to find it one day.  OPI wanted to contact me in regards to a photo I had submitted.  They were working on a project and wanted to us my photo!  I scrambled with my response and soon received a reply;  OPI wanted to use my photograph for their 2011 calendar.  Would I allow them to use my photo?  WOW.  Of course they could!  I was so shocked that they thought my photo... and my marbling ... was nice enough to put on their calendar, which I was told, would be seen by professionals world-wide that I nearly fainted!  I gave them permission, of course! Here is the page my photo is on:

Miss April! Click to enlarge!

I am so proud of this.  It is such an honor to represent a company that I truly love.  I will proudly display this long after 2011 ends!  I do owe a big THANK you to Colette of My Simple Little Pleasures and to my friend across the pond, Sophie!   Thank you for all of your wonderful tutorials, and inspiration.  If it were not for you two, I would not have ever started water marbling!

I also owe a big thank you to O.P.I.  Again, I am honored.  The calendar is so well put together!  Even if I wasn't chosen to represent, I would have loved to have purchased this calendar!  I love the format and it's a joy to display!


Happy New Year!

Peace!