Banananananana

BATMAN!

I had to do two. You know this, right?

I decided to go a little more subtle for this one:

I painted each nail black (Pure Ice "Touch me Here"), then sponged on a combination of black, purple (Wet n Wild "On a Trip"), silver (Wet n Wild "Metalica", and white (Maybelline Color Show "Porcelain Party").

For the Bat signal, I used Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Night Lights" with a couple drops of "Porcelain Party" added for opacity, and drew it on with a toothpick. Once it was dry, I did add a thin layer of glow in the dark acrylic paint, just where the grey is (note to self: top coat keeps glow in the dark paint from charging/glowing).

Holy Demolition, Batman! (Part 2)

[In case you missed it, Part 1 can be found here, along with what all of the bru-haha is about and what exactly Liebster is and how it works.]

Today's 11 Facts:
1. I love anything steampunk.
2. I'm a certified art conservation tech, but can't get a job in the field because of all the budget cutbacks. :(
3. I shot archery (recurve only--compound is cheating!) until I got out of high school, but now I don't have a bow or a place to shoot.
4. I can cuss you out in French, Italian, and Japanese. Just don't ask me where the bathroom is, because I couldn't tell you.
5. I plan on fleeing the country as soon as I have more than $20 in my bank account on a regular basis.
6. I'm a Mac only kind of girl. I can kill a PC at ten paces. The cheaper they are, the faster they fall.
7. I collect typewriters, flamingos, international flags, and dust bunnies. The last one is not intentional.
8. My favorite show is Charmed. I like to watch it when I write, and usually have one of the season box sets by my computer (right now it's season 4)
9. My primary skills are knitting, spinning, crocheting, dying, sewing, and embroidering. This probably explains why I'm supporting myself with retail.
10. I was a child of the 80s, and went straight from a crib to a waterbed. I can't have it in my apartment, though. I miss it.
11. "A Little Princess" was probably the single most influential book on me as a child.

Delight in Nails didn't post any of her own questions, so I'll just answer some of the ones she was given--well, except for the dupes from yesterday's post.

6. Are you a fan of Indie polishes and why?
I can't say that I've tried any of them, so I have no real opinion on the matter. Most of the indies I've seen have been chunky glitter polishes, which I'm not a fan of.
7. What sport do you enjoy watching in the Olympics?
Gymnastics, especially the men's. Did anyone else notice how gorgeous those guys were this year?
9. What other hobbies do you have?
Well, I just listed most of them. But I also really like biking, though I no longer have a safe place to do it or a place to store my bike, so it's in storage.
10. Do you have any strange fears?
Tons. Like zombies and parasites, for example. Also: going blind and mental illness.
11. If you were an animal, what would you be and why?
A house cat, because I am inherently lazy and love to play with yarn. =^n.n^=

Whew!
And now for my 11 questions for the people I'm tagging:
1. Why do you blog about your chosen subject matter?
2. What got you started on that subject?
3. What is your favorite part about what you do?
4. What historical event are you sorry you missed/weren't alive to see?
5. Where would you most like to visit?
6. It's the zombie Apocalypse. Where do you go for shelter?
7. Digital or analog? Why?
8. What other hobbies do you have?
9. Early bird or night owl? Any reason why?
10. What piece of advice would you give your twelve-year-old self? (limited to 1 sentence)
11. What book/movie/tv show had the greatest impact on you as a child?

Thanks again to Delight in Nails and Nails for the Sake of Sanity for nominating me!

The following are my favorite blogs with under 200 followers. I actually only know of 1 nail blog that fits the criteria, so there's a mix here (hence the oddball questions!).

1. GelaNails
2. RidiculousKnits
3. Typewriter Heaven
4. Life in a Typewriter Shop
5. I Dream Lo-Tech
6. Five Cats from Crazy

Arg. All of those blogs I follow, and you know what? 95% either don't show how many followers they have, have over 200, or don't update regularly.

So that is my list, short as it is. I think that makes it a little more special, don't you?

Holy Demolition, Batman! (Part 1)

[Heehee. I found that quote here, in case you're wondering. I thought it was fitting, considering it's comic book theme week for the Geek Challenge.]


So yesterday I was nominated not once, but twice for the Liebster award, which is given to nail bloggers with less than 200 followers. Many thanks to Delight in Nails and Nails for the Sake of Sanity for the props!

So here are the award rules:

• Post 11 facts about yourself
• Answer the questions the tagger has asked you and then create 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate
• Choose 11 people with less than 200 followers to give this award to and link to them
• Go to their pages and tell them (Remember no tag backs!)

Since I was nominated twice, I'm going to split my responses into 2 posts. Today, I'll do the first 11 facts and questions, and the second tomorrow. Today, I'm looking at the questions posed by Nails for the Sake of Sanity:

Fun Facts:
1. Sophia isn't my real name. It's an internet handle I came up with in college when I got sick of the anime-themed one I'd been using since middle school. "Sophia Rowan" is two aspects that I want to embody: Sophia means wisdom, while Rowan is a tree that symbolizes protection.
2. My pen name, Sophia Beaumont, came about in a similar fashion--but Beaumont is a nod to Montreal, since it means "Beautiful mountain."
3. In case you haven't guessed, my favorite city is Montreal.
4. I live with my roommate and best friend of nine years.
5. I have a kitty, but he doesn't live with me right now. My parents are taking care of him until we can afford the pet fee for our apartment.
6. We'll probably end up moving before that happens.
7. I love cars, especially classic Chevy's from the 50s and 60s.
8. My dream car is a 1960 Chevy Impala, with a dark blue/black exterior and powder blue interior. Convertible.
9. I love anything with fur and four legs.
10. Spiders occasionally make me scream.
11. I'm addicted to sour candy. And chocolate.

Questions:
1. How did you get into nail art?
I hadn't really painted my nails in years, but then my roommate showed me some incredible Mario-themed art manicures, and I had to try them for myself. It's been downhill from there.
2. What is your favorite manicure of yours so far? (please include photo)
Probably my sea creature manicure. It turned out way better than I expected!

3. If you could have any polish, what would it be?
OPI Black Spotted.
4. Favorite polish brand?
At the moment? China Glaze or Essie.
5. Ultimate dream job?
Writer/knit designer/blogger/social media guru.
6. Favorite animal and why?
Cats, because they are adorable, and also flamingos because they are so goofy. I love anything that makes me laugh.
7. What is your favorite quote?
Fe=iron. Male=man. Therefore, I am Iron Man.
8. What is one thing that you are really particular or picky about?
Lots of things, but the main one that comes to mind is organization at work. It seems like no one puts anything away properly, and then I get all anal organizing hangers and fixtures instead of doing the stuff I'm supposed to.
9. Where do you get inspiration for your nails?
Other blogs, comics, deviantart, pinterest, television, patterns I see on clothing, particular color combinations I see together...
10. What place (country, city, etc) would you most like to visit and why?
I adore Canada, Ireland, and the UK and would love to go back. I've always wanted to go to France, but so far I've mostly just seen the airport. I also want to see Germany and Japan.
11. Why do you do nail blogging? In other words, what do you get out of it or hope to get out of it? In real life I'm kind of antisocial. I talk way more with my keyboard than I with my mouth! Blogging is a creative outlet that lets me get instant responses (unlike with the fiction I write), lets me meet new people, share ideas, and at the same time spread the word about stuff I'm working on--like the Geek Nail Challenge, or my short story that was just published in July. (Yes that was a shameless plug. :D )

Since I subscribe to over a hundred blogs of various types, I'll post my tag list tomorrow once I've had a chance to figure out who has less than 200 followers with the best content. Hint: There are going to be a lot of typewriters!

Geek Nail Challenge: Commence!

Yay! Today is the first day of the Geek Nail Challenge, which is all about comics and manga!

I was super excited about this one, since I've had this particular manicure in my head for a while.

Sailor Moon!

Sadly, my execution did not live up to my expectations (entirely my own fault and not that of the polish).

For those not in the know, those are the symbols/colors that represent each of the Sailor Scouts--the Inner Seishi, at least (5 main characters).

And because you know I love my theme songs, even if they get butchered in translation:



Sailor Moon was my first anime. I remember being five or six and sneaking into the living room at 6:30 in the morning on Saturdays to watch it while my parents were asleep. I had to be really quiet because my mom was a light sleeper and she hated Sailor Moon--still does. She thought Usagi--or Serena, as I knew her then--was a poor role model for young girls because she cried all the time. I disagree, especially since I'm kind of a crybaby myself, even now.

Please note the rating in the corner of the screen. For those unfamiliar with American TV ratings, "Y7" means that is considered appropriate for "Youths 7 and older".

*Cough* Obviously, a LOT got cut when SM made it's way here from Japan. Namely an entire season.

And how exciting is it that the manga is being released in the US, AND there's a reboot of the anime in the works? I'm totally pumped about this.


Colors used:
Pure Ice "Touch Me Here" (black)
Sally Hansen Insta-dri "Lightening" (yellow), "Blue By" (Blue), and "Just in Lime" (Green)
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme wear "Sun Kissed" (orange)
Pure Ice "Siren" (red)

I was sort of hard on my nails after doing this mani, and the color started to chip before I got to take pictures. While I'm happy with the way my left hand turned out (mostly), My right hand looks like crap. I can't draw with my left hand, at all.

I'll try to do another manga/comic mani for later this week--hopefully with better luck!

Administrative

For those keeping track, Monday is the first day of the Geek Nail Challenge. Several people have already signed up, and I will be sending them emails with more information this weekend. I have a family reunion on Saturday, so the emails will likely go out some time late on Sunday. I'll try to get them out sooner, but I don't know what my schedule looks like quite yet.

We'll be using Inlinkz to share photos, just like for the Summer Fun challenge. That means when I send you the email, there will be a link to another site. On that site will be a couple of links/codes that you can paste into the relevant blog posts, which will show other people's manicures, and will enable you to add your own.

Feel free do do as many manis as you want--Since I'm only doing one topic per week, you can take it as far (or make it as simple) as you would like. The point is to have fun geeking out together!

If you don't receive your email by 10 pm eastern time on Sunday, make sure that you check your spam folder since that first email will be sent out as a bulk email. My email screen name is KnotMagickKnitter (from my other blog), so keep an eye out for it!

See you next week!

Foiled Again!

I love special effect polishes.


Pop Beauty "Split Silver" over Revlon "Mysterious."

I like them even better when they're metallic or sparkly.

Thanks for looking!

Abstract

Just a simple abstract pattern to try out my new colors.

Colors:
Finger Paints "Tiffany Imposter"
Sally Girl pink
Wet n Wild "Metalica"

Happy humpday.