My one month blog-i-versary with a side of Seuss!

Hello readers!

Gadzooks!! How have we arrived at the month of May already?! I can't quite get my head around the fact a year ago I was taking my final year university exams and getting ready to graduate! Needless to say, quite a lot has changed for me since leaving the safe and familiar bubble of Lancaster University,  but two things in particular are worth mentioning:
1) I didn't have a job
2) I didn't have a blog! 

Woah. Now wasn't that some world-class rhyming?? Ha! I jest, I jest.  I actually think  Dr Seuss (my personal literary hero and the subject of this week's manicure) would be turning in his grave.... I sincerely hope my nails are a better tribute to him than my appalling rhyming efforts!

So, before I reveal my Seuss-themed fingers, I have 2 (very minor) achievements I'd like to share with you! Firstly, this post marks my one-month blog-i-versary, yay!! *pause for cake and party streamers* A big thank you to those of you who have been reading, from both near and far. I checked out my blog-stats recently, and it looks like I have some Russian, German, French, American and South Korean readers to date, which is pretty darn cool! So, Привет, Hallo, Bonjour, Hello and Ann-Yeoung to all of you, and I hope you've enjoyed reading so far! Also, I apologise if some of these international translations of 'hello' are wrong. There is a very good chance that Google gave me tons of results when I searched for them, and I'm not sure if I chose the right ones.... I'm hoping I haven't strayed too far, though!
 
Moving onto my second 'achievemment'. For this one, I feel I should put some snaps in my very own metaphorical Elle Woods 'snap cup' (10 Hannah points if you correctly guessed my movie reference!) So here it is.... My nails are all the same length!! This NEVER happens, but after waiting for some of my fallen comrades to grow, and a careful filing procedure, I finally got there! I really hope it lasts as it makes doing nail-art so much easier, but life has a funny way of throwing curve-balls at you! Guess I'll have to see what happens...

Okay, celebrations over. Time to get this blog post properly underway! So, as the blog header states, and as my earlier (and rather hideous)  attempts at rhyming would hint at, this week's manicure has a Dr Seuss theme! I LOVED his stories as a child, and I'm lucky to own a lot of his books. Even at the age of 22, they still have pride and place on my book-shelf! However, this isn't the first time my favourite childhood stories have been the subject of my manicures. Behold, the ghosts of nail art past....

"Out of the egg came a tiny and very hungry caterpillar." (Eric Carle, 1969)

Nail art BB (Before Blogging!)

These Hungry Caterpillar nails were one of my earliest attempts at nail-art and I hadn't even dreamed of becoming a blogger at that stage! They're actually one of my favourite designs so far, even though I did them quite a while ago! I love how Eric Carle's illustrations look like they've been created from crepe paper. This may be the case, I just haven't researched his unique illustration style enough and I'm only speculating! Speaking of unique illustrations, Dr Seuss's drawings (besides his brilliant rhyming style of course) are what I love most about his books. Fun fact: You won't ever find a straight line in any of his illustrations- something which he made a point of avoiding when he put pen to paper. I think it's supposed to keep with the topsy-turvy nature of his stories, and I think it's awesome his drawings conform to that style too!

So, before I gush any more about all that is Seuss,  I present to you, dear readers...

DR SEUSS NAILS!!

(Thumb to pinkie) The Cat in the Hat, Thing 1, Thing 2, Sam I am, Green eggs and Ham

So, what do you think? If you're not familiar with his books then I guess this manicure won't make much sense to you! I chose to focus on two of his most popular stories, "The Cat in the Hat" and "Green Eggs and Ham". I  also felt that the primary colours featured in both books would translate well into a manicure. 

Technique wise, I started out with a white base and added a matte top coat. What happened next is quite the revelation! Brace yourselves, readers. It's a big deal and will forever change how I do many of my nail designs....

So, since my last blog post, and after accidentally stumbling across this method in other blogs, I have discovered this: The humble gel pen is an AMAZING nail art tool! I honestly don't think I've really used them since Primary School (anyone remember the scented ones? Pure nostalgia!) and I'm very glad to have reacquainted myself with them! Seriously, being able to draw directly onto my nails instead of using a tiny brush is very exciting! Yep. I don't get out much....

So anyway, I went out and bought some last week, and I can't wait to use them in my future manicures! I'll still be using brushes when adding colour onto my nails, but get pens are great for adding finer details and outlines. I must stress that a topcoat is essential though, otherwise your design will immediately wash away! *sad face*.

Hope you liked my Seuss nails, and to any fellow nail-artists reading this, I strongly suggest you try gel pens. You won't regret it!
 Until next time, folks!

Hannah x