09 March 2015

The Digit-al Dozen Does Nature, Day One: Poppy Seed Pods

Hi everyone! My schedule has eased up lately so I'm able to participate in this month's Digit-al Dozen challenge. I've been feeling uninspired about blogging and nails in general, so I hope that this will help me get back into the swing of things. And it couldn't be a better month - this week's theme is nature, which is right up my alley.

Black and white poppy seed pods


About this design: 

I was searching through images of black and white botanical illustrations when I came across this image of poppy seed pods by botanical artist Sue Vize. Sometimes they are called poppy seed heads, but basically they are the bulbs before the flowers bloom. You can pick them, dry them, and then harvest them for poppy seeds. I love the quirkiness of the drawing, and also the vintage look. I also had some new detail brushes that I was eager to use.

Black and white poppy seed pods

Black and white poppy seed pods

To get this look:

I painted the base with a white polish - Pure Ice Superstar! The pods were painted with black acrylic paint and a touch of white for the highlights. The brush is by Princeton Art & Brush Co. It's a round 20/0 from the 3050 Decorative Miniature line (you can find images here). I've only used this brush once so far, for this design, but it was amazing. I loved the amount of detail I was able to get, especially in the stems. I bought the brush at an art store, but you may be able to find it online.

Black and white poppy seed pods

Black and white poppy seed pods

Final thoughts:

I've been feeling not very inspired to do nail art lately, but in preparing for this week's theme, I found myself more and more interested. And it makes sense. People sometimes say "I'll paint (or write or do nail art) when I'm inspired" but I've found inspiration comes more often from doing stuff. So I find I have more ideas and inspiration when I am doing nail art more frequently. If I take a break, I'm less likely to feel inspired.

What do you think of this? Tell me - how do you get inspired to do nail art?

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48 comments:

  1. This is absolutely gorgeous! I have really missed your nail art, so happy to see you back. :)

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    1. Thanks so much Ashley! I appreciate the sentiment. :)

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  2. Outstanding as always. It looks exactly like old school plant drawings! I'm happy to see you're back and hopefully finding a bit more inspiration!

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    1. Thanks Serene, and I hope so too - I felt more inspired while I was working on my designs for this week (or the three I've finished so far). So I hope I can carry that forward. :)

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  3. How beautiful and absolutely unique! I've missed seeing your nail art, so glad to see this post pop up in my feed!

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    1. Thank you Sumeet, that's very nice of you!

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  4. I love that! This nail art is gorgeous!

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  5. Very well painted! Love that you used black and white. I get inspired from what I experience or beautiful things I see, like a dress in a shop, or a color combination used in a movie, or looking at the colors of my new bottles and the design of the label, or looking at tutorials or nail art pictures, or the seasons. Themes in different nail art challenges also give many ideas, especially if I try to combine 2- 3 prompts, or if I try to brainstorm, or try to find all the stamping plates that go with the theme. I write down the ideas in a little book. But to actually do nail art, I often have to have a deadline or I've had a sad or bad day... But I'll try to do it more regularly, and see if that helps.

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    1. That does help, thank you Lani! I used to brainstorm/write down my ideas, and I got out of the habit. I also find that challenge prompts help - I think my Digit-al Dozen posts are evidence of that. :)

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  6. Hi Meghan, I think we all struggle with inspiration now and then, not just in creative endeavors like nail art, but also in daily life. I mean, how many times do I have to unload that dang dishwasher already??? I'm SO bored with that... Ha, ha. For me, staying in my artistic mojo is easier if I pace myself -- so I don't pressure myself to put out content on anyone else's schedule but my own. It seems like we've all seen some wonderful nail artists come and go, but I notice that the ones who tend to stick around are the ones who aren't flooding us with posts every single day. They're more like once or twice a week, a more realistic pace. Take care of your creativity and artistic nature and go with your own, personal flow on this! <3 <3 <3

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    1. I totally understand what you mean - and blogging can become very repetitive after awhile. And I agree, pushing yourself to constantly produce is not helpful. Thanks for the encouraging and helpful words. <3

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  7. These are gorgeous... I love how your nails look like pages straight out of a sketchbook! You're such a great artist!!!

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    1. Thanks so much SJ! I was going for that kind of look, so I'm glad that it turned out. :)

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  8. I cannot believe how incredible and detailed this looks. I wish I had your amazing talents! I'm glad to see you pushing yourself to do nail art and I can't wait to see the rest of your nature looks. My favorite way to get inspiration is surfing Instagram for cute patterns and vector images - and straight up copying my favorite nail artists, like you :)

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    1. It looks detailed at first, but of course when I look up close I can see the blobs, and lack of definition - but isn't that always the case? ;) I haven't tried looking on Instagram for design idea (besides other nail artists of course!), but I'm also a fan of copying artists and nail artists I admire (with credit). :)

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  9. I'm always saving designs from others to my 'genius' file for future ideas, and guess where this just went? I'm loving this!

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    1. EEEEK! I'm very honoured! Thank you Amanda. :D

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  10. This is just amazing! I can't draw to save my life.

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    1. Oh no! I've always loved drawing. I'm glad you enjoyed these though. :)

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  11. You never cease to amaze me! This is just stunning!

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  12. Oh Meghan, you do such gorgeous designs. I love the delicate feel of these, and like you said the vintage vibe. Definitely stunning!

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  13. WHOA. I am blown away! They look so crisp and detailed, if you had posted them without commentary, I would have thought they were decals.

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  14. So jealous of your painting skills ! This mani is great :) The lack of inspiration happens, and you shouldn't pressure yourself ! I like to have a look at Pinterest, and Instagram you can find awesome inspirations there :)

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  15. I know how you feel about being uninspired, I've been the same lately. You've really outdone yourself with this design though, the detail is totally stunning!

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  16. 'I've found inspiration comes more often from doing stuff' - amen to that! I do agree: if you're hands on more often than not it's likely you'll research and we all know where googling will take us, right? ;) Also, I feel that nail art challenges are the best - they get the old gear working for me.
    That being said, I think you nailed this one - great recreation of the original and you're right: the vintage-y feel about it is perfect!

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  17. Stunning! Myself, I'm glad for the DD challenges; I do art I would never do otherwise!

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  18. So glad you're back Meghan! The detail of these is so incredible. I really envy your skills! Poppies are my favourite so I super love these.

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  19. Amazing floral, as always! Great job, Meghan!

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  20. This is so beautiful ... it was definitely worth waiting for! I love the botanical sketch look, and having seen the print you have recreated it beautifully. I think being given a prompt can be so helpful when feeling uninspired. I find starts the creative ball rolling and then I'm off again! That detail brush you mentioned looks fabulous, I had a look online and found a UK supplier so thanks for the lead. :)

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  21. wowww how have you managed to create this manicure, it looks like perfection!
    You're so creative :) I think all the details look great and the colors look lovely together as well :)
    I think you've done a wonderful job.

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  22. This is just amazing. It's like it's not even real! You're quite an artist!

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  23. Your freehand art skills are amazing! This is perfection!

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  24. I'm just speechless. THIS is why you are amazing.

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  25. Wow this is stunning- I love how soft and minimalist it is.

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  26. this is so beautiful! I feel like this style is just right in your wheelhouse. So perfect!

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  27. I like to leave more eloquent comments on posts that wow me, but I can just say: "Wow!"

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  28. Stark and stunning! Always amazed by your talent!

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  29. Right up your alley for SURE! I love it! Such talent.

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  30. This is sheer perfection. You have some amazing creative skills.

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  31. I love these, Meghan! And I completely agree, I find that I am much more inspired when I keep up with my nail art than when I let it slip for awhile. I've been feeling similarly lately, so I'm going to remind myself that I need to just go for it and hopefully the inspiration will come then.

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  32. I don't know how you do it (ok, I do, you've got amazing talent!) but the detail is amazing! I'm in awe! What I really love is that you always add a bit of a distressed look to your manis with added color on the base. I think it is that that makes the mani look complete and grounded. Fabulous job!

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