Mish Mash Challenge: Purple & a Tutorial

Hello and welcome to the very first Kimber's Amazing Challenge Ladies Mish Mash Challenge!  This group of gals hung through the ABC Challenge earlier in the year and we enjoyed it so much, we just had to do another!  True to its name, the Mish Mash Challenge is a kind of hodge podge of ideas that everyone came up with.  Here's the fancy badge that the lovely Liz of A Mani-Maniac designed for us :)

And the Challenge list that takes us through to next year, if you can believe that!  A big thank you to Liz and Lisa LozLosa from LOZLOSA for doing most of the organizing for this one!

The first Challenge, as you can see above, is Purple nails.  I decided I wanted to combine this challenge with the tutorial for the chevrons I promised you a few posts ago, because it's such a great and simple technique!  Let's get goin', shall we?

The first thing you should always do before attempting any nail art is to gather your supplies.  There's not a lot worse than having to fish through a bin or drawer of supplies while your nails are wet because you forgot something.  Here I've got my 4 polishes (I'll list them at the end of the post if you're interested), scotch tape, pinking shears (you can also use any craft scissors with a scalloped or zigzag edge), regular scissors, and a flattening implement (cuticle stick/paintbrush end/other object) to smooth the tape onto your nails and ensure a sealed edge.  What I forgot to include in this pic is my top coat and the acetone I use for clean up.  I used Seche Vite and I do recommend that for this look, you use a thicker top coat like SV or Gelous to seal everything up.

The photo montage shows the super easy steps for this look.  The technique I'm showing you here is SO easy, I wish I could say I thought of it myself.  I saw it on Pinterest awhile back, though I can't for the life of me remember where!  I didn't re-Pin it so I can't seem to find the source.  I believe it may have been The Beauty Department, but if anyone knows different, please tell me so I can give credit where it's due!

You can use as few as 2 or as many polishes as you like for this look.  Start by applying 2 coats of your base color and cleaning up any overflow with a small brush dipped in acetone.  I go ahead and apply a thin coat of SV, just to get things drying faster.

Next, you're going to paint a small section of your scotch tape with one of your stripe colors, as shown in Step 1 above.  Let it dry in between coats, I usually do 2-3 coats depending on the opacity of the polish.  This is something you can do ahead of time if you'd like.  Let the polish dry completely on the tape (I try to give it at least 15 minutes before moving on to Step 2) and then tear off the painted tape from the dispenser.

Using your pinking shears or craft scissors, cut small strips of polished tape as shown in Step 2.  You can cut these in whatever width you'd like; I varied mine from wide to narrow to create my look.  I cut a whole bunch of strips at a time so I can have them all ready to go at once.  You can stick the strips to the edge of a desk or table until you're ready to apply them.

In Step 3, I've applied one strip to my nail.  The great thing about this technique is that if you don't like the placement, you can peel it off and restick it.  Makes life so much easier!

When you've decided on placement, use your regular scissors to trim the edges of the tape to fit your nail, as in Step 4. Then, using your cuticle stick/flattening instrument, press the edges of the tape onto your nail, completing Step 5.  Repeat these steps as many times as needed to get the look you want.  Don't forget to leave a little space between your tape strips so that your base color shows through! 

Top everything with at least 2 coats of top coat.  You want to make sure to cover the tape completely so the edges don't stick up.  I've used this technique a few times now and haven't had any trouble with things peeling off before I take off the manicure.  Additionally, the tape's glue dissolves in nail polish remover, so it's easy to take off when you're ready.

Here's my finished look:

I hope the tutorial was helpful!  I feel like a rambled a bit, but hopefully you guys get the idea.  Feel free to throw out questions or give suggestions on how to make it more concise!

Please go visit the other ladies' pages if you get a chance. I can't wait to see what everyone did for the first Challenge!  There's a lot of talent in this group, so be prepared for some jaw-dropping!  You can find them via the thumbnails below.

Lastly, don't forget to enter my LynBDesigns giveaway!  It's running through 8/9 and the prize is pretty fabulous, so don't miss out!  As always, thanks so much for reading!

Polish List:
Base color:
Wet 'n' Wild FastDry~Who Is Ultra Violet?
Chevron colors:
Sinful Colors~Tempest
Hard Candy~Crush On Amethyst
Orly~Out Of This World