OK so the title might be a little misleading for this one! I know this isn't really Christmas art. BUT...I got this amazing Barry M AROUND Christmas time and it seems kind of festive so I'm running with it!  This is Barry M Blue Plum from their Gelly line.  I have to say this is my first one and I'm impressed. Thoroughly.  It says one coat and incredible shine and it doesn't disappoint.  I only used one coat and it DID dry super duper shiny.  But after about a day I got bored with the solid color so...I fancied it up a bit.  First I added a coat of Max Factor Fantasy Fire which gave it this amazing duo chrome sparkle.  Then I added a swirly design using Barry M Gold Foil.  These got pretty good feedback from a lot of people! I really dig the Fantasy Fire over the deep blue.  I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday season!

So I'm starting this new thing called Flashback Friday.  It's not going to happen EVERY Friday but here and there I'll be recreating nail art from my early days!  There are a lot of mani's that I really wanted to come out differently than they ended up and I just didn't have the skill level to take them there.  So I'm going to start re-doing them and hoping that now I have the skillset to do them properly!  It's also a bit of a chance for you, as my readers, as well as myself to see how not only my art skills have improved, but also my photography skills.  So this is the first of my flashbacks.  The original art work: Sew DC, was done in March of 2011 so it's been nearly a year and a half since they were first done.  They were based on a pair of DC shoes that I have which I still have and still absolutely love!  Here's the original picture:

The main problem with the original is the photography skills.  My nails didn't take up nearly enough of the frame, it was taken in bad artificial lighting and it's way too dark.  There's also a severe lack of cleanup and unfortunately, I couldn't get away with zero clean-up at that time!  Originally I used five coats of Essie Like Linen and then waited an inordinate amount of time before stamping the flowers on using Essie Sew Psyched, Orly Prince Charming, and Revlon Fuschia Fever.  This time I used three coats of the Essie Like Linen, since I realize now that the base doesn't need to be completely opaque when you're using stamps to cover the entire surface.  Then I used a coat of Seche Vite and about 20 minutes later I was able to start stamping.  I was a bit less random with the stamping this go round and since I no longer have Revlon Fuschia Fever, I subbed Max Factor Disco Pink.  Both are hot pink creme's but it turns out that the Max Factor is a bit less sheer when stamped.  Overall I think I like the new version better.  I used less stamps to let the base show through more and I like the pop of pink.  These are still some of my most favorite nails I've done!!  Which version do you prefer?