The 31 Day Challenge 2014 Roundup Post

During the month of September, I tackled the 31 Day Challenge for the fourth time ever. As always, it lived up to its "challenging" name, but I successfully completed it without missing a single day! One of my favorite parts of the challenge is looking at the completed body of work, so here we have it, the roundup post! You can also check them out on my 31DC2014 Pinterest board.

Click any photo to be taken to the original post.

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

My personal favorites are the violet watercolor wash, firefly sunset gradient, handpainted geometric gradient, glittery skull cameos, and Barbara Kruger inspired nail art.

Congratulations 31 Day Challenge Finishers!

We did it! We made it all the way through the 31 Day Challenge. Congratulations to you, it's no small feat! The Challenge is intense, but many of you have conquered it. The #31DC2014 tag on Instagram alone has over 19,000 images! WHOA!

To celebrate your dedication and nail art prowess, I've commissioned some badges from the wonderful Ling Yeung. Grab one and display it on your blog with pride! I've included the HTML code below each badge, or you can save the image to your computer and upload it that way.

If you want to display a badge on your Instagram, click the following links for larger versions of the images that you can save to your phone and repost: Blue, Green, Pink, Orange, Purple, Red.

<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvNiSlGLV5gauGMtslzLya1kJQNL2aLyDipi8G328R3BzMPbLBgoOFg2aHtP2vWMsKVHtwIzUK8bIhvrGww7nafK9gPd992NV6ADX3HTsi_wxs1N3ZFwv_y0W7huG9OfVYBaPqbBli_TDu/s175-no/31-day-challenge_blue.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0mJccqp1nsGpcpIkFW6SCiWqICE1vz_-YpWoorajyfsuZLym6-tcGDkBiTSpt9ZycmzqsEmNaC1qLIz1Uupl6NtU2NYm2OFHBwVoWClqXzYUzOP3mhe-oqF2TkvLITgcXeqka6-D5UM7Q/s175-no/31-day-challenge_green.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1H7jvPGDgvB90R9XAWoEasctke5QVqjszKrQ59U1dz1GT1NfhQho3rC_1AQcQiFKdmunS97Z0hqQqMiiCVht2AtCMpRoPmQWIHhF0_P2GWNy09T59pxsl62kyCBrQgy1BHasHm8ONmYHs/s175-no/31-day-challenge_pink.png" border="0"></a></p>
<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzzIWCyrW7eGhIIoyfxjUHfvUEtppEg755XMmni0r-uKvTMGaZNKZ2Mib40BTrAlOsKb4cteIgjb9Gow3yT-XKHJcT0Ds_cUDGKkG05zlbgRP6bguklYBfcp_bNmREhkscCl11pn7lxz-_/s175-no/31-day-challenge_orange.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_jtRqkg6Kzgvnn4r30E8KKlECTJ-ahi1YE6ft-kTtQgn_LEtQsf7uQuyUCLIutB26WgwFDzIxak_x47GRBvXZQ41GWujYSTCrawz73i5v2ZeqcnOz6hxD5FPy2KjSIRR8mDzL21tMeD4M/s175-no/31-day-challenge_purple.png" border="0"></a></p>	<p align="center"> <a href="http://bit.ly/31DC2014" target="_blank"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAGQyP11mIS2HwOYS1UNgE3SSvU39PC5ugU7-pciHIwlQSvm2C_wkFHsTWxqPeFvwNRVXjQibfObpG3GesFtxADiMmkPCo9S3JQS32Yvx3uD1j58nM_1QFuVvDMENB1aNe_5oBB0TOSKa8/s175-no/31-day-challenge_red.png" border="0"></a></p>

If you're still plugging away at the challenge (maybe at a different pace or a few days behind), feel free to come back and snag a badge when you complete it!

Stay tuned for my #31DC2014 roundup post, and congratulations again to all of you. I had a blast and I loved keeping up with everyone's work. Now to go take a hundred year nap.

Chunky Sweater Nails Inspired by Very Emily

Today is the final day of the 31 Day Challenge! This month both flew by and went very slowly. Isn't it weird how time does that? The final prompt is "honor nails you love" and I've chosen Very Emily's knitted nail art design. I'm not a knitter myself, but I have been known to enjoy a good sweater! I'm totally enamored with the combination of soft shades and patterns in Emily's work; it feels very "winter luxe" to me.

Nail polishes used:
Contrary Polish Frozen
Cirque Carpe Diem
Cirque Au
Sonoma Nail Art Wine Country Wedding

The knit stitched and the "ball of yarn" nails were painted freehand. For the accent nail I stacked a gold leaf with a white glitter. Gold leaf just felt like the right choice last night. Maybe it was that "winter luxe" feeling I was getting.

On a related note, I want to do the stitching pattern in a million more color combinations! How cute does it look?

Previous nails I've honored:

• Rebecca Likes Nails' Candy Print
• Mr. Candiipants' Koi Fish
• Nailside's Abstract 80's Design

Star Bright - Reverse Stamped Glow in the Dark Stars

We're almost at the end of the 31 Day Challenge! Today's prompt is "inspired by a tutorial" and I took the opportunity to try reverse stamping, a technique I've never tried before. I always like the results other people get from it, and the Challenge is all about pushing yourself, so advanced stamping seemed like the way to go. I did struggle, but the finished product doesn't look too shabby! I used this tutorial from Drama Queen Nails for my guidance.

Nail polishes used:
Formula X Dark Matter
OPI Angel With a Leadfoot
Serum No. 5 I Gleam In Pink
Serum No. 5 Solar Power
Serum No. 5 Orange You Sunny
Serum No. 5 Ultra Violet
Serum No. 5 Indi-glo
Vivid Lacquer plate VL002

If you wanna try out this technique, be sure to visit Drama Queen Nails for her tutorial. The basic gist of it is that you create your own decals by stamping and painting on a plastic bag or a piece of wax paper. You peel the "decals" off, flip them over, and stick them on your nails.

I used five of the Serum No. 5 neon glows for this look, and it was AWESOME in the dark. Tiny little glowing stars, floating around. I love that they glow different colors, too.

Check out the other tutorials I've tried in the past:

• Cutie owl half moons
• Candy mermaid scales
• Floral pond manicure