Galactic Skull

Ashraf Ali aka The Drawing Beard from Swindon UK created this skull artwork.

I love looking up at the stars and admiring the constellations at night, and the watching the cloud formations during the day. We live on a very beautiful planet in a gorgeous solar system, so of course artwork inspired by this, interests me. If I saw a skull appear in the sky, I would be intrigued. This skull reminds me more of a light symbol similar to Batman's. Sort of makes me want to figure out how to make that happen at night. You can find more of Ashraf Ali's work on Facebook, Blogger, Society 6, and Tumblr.

February Nail Art Challenge - Day 3: XOXO

I am giving myself a little pat on the back right now because this is the first time that I've actually kept up with one of these challenges as well as stay on time with one of these challenges! This was a more difficult theme for me as it's a fairly simple concept and therefore only so much you can do with it. I know since it's February, everyone always wants to use pinks and reds and purples in their manis (especially when you're doing an "XOXO" theme) but I'm so burnt out on them!...Yes, I know I've only done one mani with those colors :p Maybe I'll make it through the whole month without using overtly Valentine's colors together!?! Err, not likely...anyway! I went with two of my absolute favorite colors together on this one--Turquoise and Caicos and the lovely coral Tart Deco! 

These were super simple and quick, but I think still fun and hopefully unique-ish :)

Happy Polishing! :)

[CONTEST REMINDER] Win a Dia de los Muertos Pendant from Azurafae

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating.

Don't forget you have until 11:59pm Eastern USA Time Friday, February 8, 2013 to make an entry comment to win a Dia de los Muertos Pendant from Azurafae. You can find the original contest post by clicking the side bar ad, or this link.

[NOTE: If you are reading this on Facebook or Google+, you must go to THE ACTUAL BLOG POST HERE to enter this contest! You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+]

"Creepy Cute" Skulls

Lin Shi of the WWA Gallery thought our readers would like their current showing called "Creepy Cute".  I have a feeling our fans will love the skulls they'll find, including these from just 2 of the artists featured in the show.

"Chase Tafoya grew up in Merced, CA and looks to his background and relationships to create gritty paintings and illustrations infused with urban and street culture. Besides numerous exhibits all over the world in places such as Spain, Germany, Tokyo, and across the United States, his work can be found on projects and collaborations with Travis Barker, Soul Assassins, DSTROYR, The Lovewright Co. and many more. Being self taught, Tafoya’s incredible technical achievement in portraiture is further proof that it takes true passion and dedication to craft a successful artist."

"Jonathan Bergeron, aka Johnny Crap, is a painter and illustrator based in Montreal, Canada. His artistic career began with designs for concert posters and t-shirts but his skills in ink and oils have since led to exhibits throughout Canada and the United States. Skulls favor heavily in Bergeron’s work though his paintings are not necessarily dark and macabre. Instead, much of Bergeron’s lush palette depicts intriguing narratives with a touch of humor."

"Creepy Cute" is a wonderful collection of art that is just that, creepy cute.  Of course there's a generous helping of skulls in the mix, but there's a slew of other great art featured as well (I'm not a Star Wars geek or anything, but these two are prime examples: 1 2).  You can find out more abut the show, which runs through Feb. 9th, at their site here.  Thanks for sharing the talents of others, Lin!  Thanks to Chase and Johnny as well!

February Nail Art Challenge - Day 2: Flowers

I'm not really a "flowers on my nail" kind of gal and while there are some amazingly awesome flower nail art designs out there, I typically stay away from them myself. Hence, my initial struggle with finding inspiration for the latest theme in the February Nail Art Challenge. I started searching google for some flower inspiration in hopes that I'd find something that was a little different and exciting to me. Using a ridiculous number of polishes, here is what I came up with. 

Here is where I drew my inspiration from tonight. Isn't this amazing!?! I love poppies and this is just fabulous and I couldn't NOT use it as inspiration. There is a whole series of them that can be found here.

I had a nostalgic evening and ended up watching Pocahontas on Netflix tonight and I may have been listening to this on repeat while editing and blogging tonight...

Finally, I'm doing another Mani Monday! You can check out all the other awesome nails below.

Happy Polishing! :)

[CONTEST] Win a Dia de los Muertos Pendant from Azurafae

THIS CONTEST IS CLOSED! Thank you for participating.

I started doing watercolors a couple years back, when I painted this Watercolor Skull. Ever since then, I've been hooked. I've been making jewelry since I was a child. I combined my love of watercolor and jewelry making to create this double sided Skull and Heart Necklace. I enjoyed making that necklace so much, that I made a new one of a kind pendant featuring my Dia de los Muertos artwork. I'm giving the new one away to one lucky Skull-A-Day fan! This is a rare occurrence, so don't miss out on entering below!

To give you an idea of scale, I'm holding it in my hand.

PRIZE INFO: A one of a kind double sided Dia de los Muertos pendant featuring two original watercolor and ink paintings created by Azurafae. Both paintings are inserted in a special locket style pendant. Each painting is signed with my real name and dated on the back. The pendant measures about 1" by 2". Though the paintings are secured in the pendant and won't fall out, do not get the pendant wet, or the paintings will be ruined. I'm not including a chain or ribbon, since many people already own a necklace they could slip the pendant on.

HOW TO ENTER: Leave a comment below telling us where you would wear this double skull pendant. For example, to a Dia de los Muertos festival, or perhaps a romantic picnic in a cemetery.

CONTACT INFO: If you win, we need to contact you. With your comment, please INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS!!! Entries are only valid with this information.

WHERE TO ENTER: All entries must be made on this blog post, on Skull-A-Day.com. You CANNOT enter this contest by commenting on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+.

CONTEST CLOSES: 11:59:59 PM Eastern USA Time Friday, February 8, 2012.

NUMBER OF WINNERS: One

PRIZE SHIPS: This contest is open to all skull lovers around the world.

IF YOU DON'T WIN: Unfortunately, since this is a one of a kind piece, there won't be a duplicate. However, I will be adding similar pendants to my Etsy shop, Azurafae, in the future. Also, custom requests are welcome. You can email me at azurafae@gmail.com for inquiries.

YouTube Tutorials?

I'm not sure if I'm sold on this yet or not, but would anyone be interested in me putting together some YouTube tutorials/videos? I feel like everyone and their mother in the Nail Art world has a YouTube channel (and blog :p) so I feel like it might get lost among all those. I'm also afraid this will be my YouTube career: 

Source: http://www.mandatory.com/2012/08/17/a-collection-of-animals-being-stupid-gifs/

(Obviously, I'd be the brown dog...) ;)

If I did do this, is there anything in particular that you all would enjoy seeing, design/nail art wise? I still need to figure out how to use iMovie and how to edit and put together a video, but I'm willing to learn! :) 

I'm off to contemplate whether or not I should take off my super bright orange polish and put on something a little less...vibrant. We shall see! Today marks the start of the "Flower" theme of the February Nail Art Challenge and I still have to keep going with the 31 Day Challenge and get a blue mani going. So many things to do and not enough nails to do them on! Hope everyone's Sunday was fabulous! I'm finishing up the end of the Super Bowl and snuggling with the Fonz ;) 

Very sleepy!

Happy Polishing!