Spring Pastels

It may (finally) be spring here in Canada! There is a forecast of more rain and snow over the weekend, but the temperatures remain positive, albeit just barely, and the view from the window in our loft is no longer obstructed entirely by snow. There are still mountains of snow everywhere, but it is slowly dwindling; the squirrels and birds are making their presence known. I love winter, but spring undeniably brings with it a sense of excitement and joy, and even as our why-homeowning-sucks list grows a little longer with warnings of imminent flooding from all the accumulated snow, our spirits remain high.

Speaking of new beginnings, I finally managed to defend my dissertation earlier this month, unofficially completing this long and arduous grad school journey. Somewhere along the way, I had lost all motivation and forgotten why it was that I even wanted a PhD, but now with the bulk of the work done, I have been reminded of just how much I love what I chose to do. It has not been easy by any account, and has involved countless moments stolen away from a possessive one-year old, many a sleepless night and much guilt on my part of shifting focus away from her. They say behind every successful man is a woman. The reverse is also just as true, for it would have been near impossible if not for the infinite patience and support of Mr ACD, who unfortunately has had to sacrifice much so I could take my own sweet time to complete my degree.

Now on to lighter things; here’s my pastel spring manicure:

The base is two thin coats of a yellow-to-pinkish coral thermal by Wikkid Polish, called Rhubarb and Custard. This polish is very temperature-sensitive and the tips change colour readily even on my short nails. I really like both the cold and the warm states, but don’t care much for the in-between peachy shade on my skin tone (not shown).

I stamped over the base with Creative Shop plate-127, one of my favourite plates ever. I was trying out the clear (holo glassy) stamper that Oksana from Creative Shop kindly sent me as a replacement for a defective one I had purchased previously, so I chose this image with both fine lines and negative space. I was impressed to see the wonderful pick-up on all parts of the image, but barely surprised because the two Creative Shop stampers that I owned previously have both proven to be of exceptional quality and I never stamp with anything else anymore. The only exception to this has been when I need a see-through stamper for ease of placement or layering, but this clear stamper has filled that void as well. Here’s a macro to show the pick-up a little better, in both the warm and cold states:

For the gradient stamping, I used two Born Pretty stamping polishes, an aqua (BP-WT04 Summer Mints) and a yellow-green (BP-ML06 Recluse).

I am really liking how this one turned out, especially mid-transition when it appears much more colourful. Unfortunately, my peel-off base coat has betrayed me and several nails have largely peeled off, so this mani will not see another sunrise.

So, until the next mani, stay warm and enjoy spring if you’re in this part of the world!