Funky French - WAAAYY Out of My Comfort Zone!

I haven't used any stamping plates in quite a while, so I decided to pull them out and give them a spin.  I have a Shany collection, and while they are nice, some of the prints just aren't big enough to cover my whole nail. I have some other random ones: Konad and 1 or 2 Born Pretty plates. I need to invest in Bundle Monster, or Nailz Craze!  

So here is what I came up with: I used a base of Zoya - Erika, a very pale pink with a golden shimmer.  I found this to be really streaky, but I knew I'd be covering it up with stamping, so I wasn't too miffed.  For stamping, I used Sally Hansen Insta Dri - Magenta Motion.

Ugh, please mind the dried-out cuticles!  I really liked this look, but as you can see on my middle finger, and even my pinky, there are some bare spots from where the plate image just was not big enough. I tried to re-stamp on my index and ring finger, but it started looking a little too jumbled.  Again, not too bothered, this was a vine pattern so it's meant to be wandering and not too uniform. 

I had an episode of insomnia last night, and decided to use some striping tape and add some french tips.  I used a new-to-me polish brand, Fresh Paint, that I purchased at Five Below. The polishes were 3 for $5, so how could I not buy 3??  The polish I used for the tips was Dragon Lady. I thought it was a foily turquoise, but I guess I was wrong! It's definitely a green shimmer/foil. Application was great for being a cheaper polish.  And this was way different from looks that I usually wear! Would this be a prom look? I have no idea, I never went to prom!  I'm not sure that is it work-appropriate, so I'll probably be changing it before the work week begins.

I free-handed the black lines using a Color Club black striper polish. 

And in this pic, you can see how someone not that great at using a striper can fail!

I have a pretty steady hand, but with stripers, you can very easily go from a thin line to a thick line, and you can see how that happened. Part of that thick line on my ring finger was not getting right on that line between green and pink with the striper, so I was compensating.  It's really not that noticeable in person as I don't think anyone is going to inspect my nails, but I notice it.  Practice Practice Practice!!

**All polishes used in this post were purchased by me.**