Hello to my readers and thank you for reading. I said in a recent blog that I still had to take a final exam on the book. Turns out I was wrong. There are no more tests for me to take — only the pre-state and state board exam. I thought that doubling up on tests and getting them out of the way would be wise, but now for the remaining weeks at school there is absolutely nothing to do until a client walks through the door. I’m just finishing my hours out. I have less than 82 hours left and that is a great feeling. I did get to demonstrate acrylics using the three-ball method to 12 students. I love to teach and make it fun. I even did long stiletto nail using only three balls.  

I was up in the air when it came to doing some nails for this blog. I wanted to extend my nail biter friend’s nail plates and then apply a white free edge with acrylics. Bad news is I have to wait until next week because she was busy. So I sent out a Facebook status asking what would people like to see. The comments were all great but I chose to go with the October Breast Cancer Awareness Month “iThumb”. I almost went with the peacock feathers but wanted to use something with texture and from nature. I found pretty pink rose petals.

I was able to get them to adhere to my thumb and encapsulate them with gel. I used OPI Excuse Moi as a base coat and then cut and placed the rose petals on my nails. I then used CND base coat, Mother of Pearl, and top coat. My grandfather has recently passed and my grandmother survives him and is a survivor of breast cancer. It’s serious business so I hope everyone does self-checks. Get in a habit of doing it daily — early detection is the best prevention. I hope everyone enjoys my weekly iThumb art!

— Marti B