For this challenge we were asked to create a triptych on a set of five nails. When I thought about carving a picture on a set of nails all I could think about was the rainbow scratch paper that I used to play with as a child. Now my children love playing and creating designs on the scratch paper, so that is where I drew my inspiration from. I wanted to ombre as many of the neon colors as my base, then cover the ombre in black acrylic. Using various e-file bits I was able to carve out my design, much like the scratch paper, to reveal the design against the black. For the triptych I chose a mandala because they are beautiful and symmetrical. To go along with the mandala I chose to have the ombre radiating from the center and going outwards. The thumb and the pinky were freehand, something I would often do when I would doodle. For these two nails I did a vertical ombre. The patterns I carved are meant to build off each other and could keep extending based on the space available and that’s what I find most beautiful about these types of designs.

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For this challenge we were asked to create a design using Madonna as our muse. I kept coming back to her fashion. Throughout her career, which has spanned three decades, she has constantly evolved and expressed herself through fashion. For this set I wanted to capture her five most iconic looks, wether it was to inspire a generation, perform at award shows or film music videos, her fashion has always stood out. Each nail in this set is a representation of her fashion statements. I wanted to make sure that I also used the Modeling Resin as much as possible in the design. I made sure to create a 3-D element or use it to adhere my embellishments. I hope you enjoy this Madonna-inspired set!

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For this challenge, feeling festive, I wanted to do my 3-D design of a traditional carnival. This challenge was a lot of fun because I absolutely love carnivals. I wanted to show all my favorite rides and foods. Using a combination of NSI acrylics, glitter and gel. I was able to make 3-D replicas of the rides that actually move. The full set was sculpted using NSI forms and acrylic. I wanted to have the nails with the rides resemble asphalt since carnivals are transient and they are usually set up in empty lots or courtyards. For the base of the food nails I used coordinating colors as solid or ombre. I enjoyed this challenge very much, not only do I love carnivals, but my daughters love them as well. So to bring a carnival to life through nails for my daughters to see was really amazing.

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For this challenge, I chose Victoria Falls. This massive waterfall is located in southern Africa and borders Zimbabwe and Zambia. I chose this wonder because it is beautiful to look at and the fact that it happened in nature and not man-made was very interesting to me. I thought it would be challenging to try and give my interpretation of the falls using EzFlow acrylic products. The rich pigmentation of the colored acrylic was ideal for this set of nails because I was able to layer and have full opacity with a thin coat. Interpreting the waterfall over a set of nails on an actual hand was also a challenge and I wanted them to not look like nails while they were, in fact on a hand. Incorporating the rainbow across the water, not only added a pop of color to the overall design but in all the research pictures I saw, there was always such a beautiful rainbow across the water. The hot air balloon was a whimsical touch that kept coming back to me when I was brainstorming this theme. Tying the air ballon in with the overall design brings all my ideas to life.

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When I was thinking of this theme I immediately knew I wanted to show the love story of Carrie Bradshaw and Mr. Big. They are my all time favorite couple and what drew me to them is that they are not perfect, they had an on and off relationship, grew and came back together for their happily every after. I was able to portray them with hand painting in a caricature style. Using Sculpt, I was able to attach all the tips together and fill in all the gaps to make a flat even surface. Also, using Sculpt I made all the significant elements I added to the piece. I wanted to really show my hand painting skills and make sure that I was able to portray the characters that are so well known. Sex and the City was such an iconic show with so many items which spark a memory from the relationship of Carrie and Big. I chose to illustrate a timeline of their relationship throughout the series.

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For this challenge I was inspired by the ocean and my personal experience. I am very cautious of the ocean because it is dark and mysterious. That is my perception of the ocean so I wanted to illustrate that on the underside of my nail design. By using the Perception collection I was able to layer the colors to look like the ocean water and add shadows of varying opacities. When you look at the nails from the front it looks like the dark, shadowy water of the ocean floor. For the top side of my design I wanted to illustrate reality through a diver’s mask. The reality of the ocean is that it is very beautiful if you are able to view it clearly. The colors of the waters from below, coral and sea life, are magical. My design for the top was to show that even though something may appear dark and ominous that when you take a clear look there is so much beauty. I made the mask opaque and used the various colors on top to illustrate the reality of what is just beneath the ocean and to show what the shadows really are. To finish off the mask, UV sculpting gel was used to give the mask a 3D effect.

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For this challenge I wanted to go outside of my comfort zone and to think outside of the box. For each of the pieces I started with a nail tip and sculpted a safari element. The safari elements that I was most inspired by were not only the animals but the scenery that you would encounter during a safari. With the colors provided, I thought it would be a challenge but they were actually perfect for the look I was going for and were vibrant enough for the animals and scenery I created. I definitely went outside of my comfort zone with the medium, which was acrylic. Only using acrylic allowed me to use it in various ways and show some different techniques. Using a wet bead of acrylic allowed me to lay it very thin and blend it if needed. Also, the acrylic consistency was perfect for shading and adding dimension. The NTNA Jeep was essential to this set because it represents the journey not only through the safari but also my journey through NTNA.

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When brainstorming about the embellishments the theme made me think of bubbles. When you look through a bubble it changes the perspective of how you view something. So it made sense to me, that if you are going to see clearly you need to see things from various perspectives. I started this design by making over 50 ‘bubbles’ out of Orly’s Builder in a Bottle to use as my embellishments. To give them their iridescent shimmer, similar to a real bubble, I used an iridescent pigment powder. This builder gel is extremely clear so it was perfect to create the bubbles and the base of this design. I encapsulated various iridescent glitters within the nail to represent bubbles forming just beneath the surface of the nails. For the second layer of encapsulation I hole-punched iridescent cellophane and used that to represent the bubbles that are closest to the surface coming up through the nails. My vision for this set was to have the bubbles just forming under the surface of the pinky and increasing the amount of bubbles until the thumb was overflowing. I had a lot of fun working on this set and the builder gel was really easy to work with to achieve my design.

Click here to see a video diary of Ashley’s nails.