Ride the Carousel

I adore carousels. I still have a calendar that is over a decade old, but I won’t let go of it because it has carousel horses. I have a cross-stitch that is even older than the calendar that’s about halfway finished. I work on it every couple of years. Maybe I will finish it before I die. I remember reading a history about the artistry behind them and being so impressed. Each mount is a work of art and the more ornate the better. So when #firedazedaugust had a Carnival prompt, there was only one thing that I was going to do…

I started with the white gel base. Then I foolishly stamped a pattern in gold and white behind it. I say foolishly because I was plagued by red lint for hours and the red lint really liked getting stuck on this pattern. I finally used the first of four magical stamping polishes from B. Loves Plates. I bought them when they first came out and I just haven’t used any of them yet. It’s been a crime against beautiful, for sure. Then I filled in the decals and wished the entire time that I had bought a magnifier. And that my hands were steady. They were extra shaky. But I persevered and here it is!

• Base Polish:
  white gel base
• Stamping Polishes:
  Sinful Colors’ “Sin-ammon” and “Whiteboard”
  B. Loves Plates’ Colour Alike “B. a Milk Chocolate”, Essie’s “Penny Talk” and “Partner in Crime”
• Advanced Stamping Polishes:
  China Glaze’s “What I Like About Blue”, ELF’s “Glamour Girl”, Essie’s “Penny Talk”, Milani’s “Yellow Whiz”, Sinful Colors’ “Bright Lucite” and “Resilient”, Sinful Colors’ Stoned Crystal Shimmer “Just Deserts” and “Thera-pewter”, Zoya’s “Jordan”
• Stamping Plates:
  Born Pretty Circus BP-X32 (monkey), Moyou London Circus Collection 06 (carousel animals, filigree), XY-Z17 (background pattern, elephant)

So many colors. I also made the mistake of centering the decals on my nail according to the pole. That was not the center axis of the designs. Oops. Still. I’m gonna love this nail art because it’s carousel based. I could have messed up 90% more and still loved it! Magic! 😀