Fun and Mental Changes

With St. Patrick's Day right around the corner (March 17th), I thought I'd share a little mani and a little story to inspire everyone. Check out "items used" at the end of this post for stuff to do this "Konadicure". But first the story....

So where the heck does this shamrock business and wearin green come from for St. Patrick's Day? Well, this is what Holidays.net has to say:

During the St. Patrick's Day season, shamrocks are everywhere from storefront displays to classroom bulletin boards. Even people's lapels sport the green three leaf clover. As the unofficial state flower of Ireland, the shamrock is the most prolific symbol of the Irish holiday. Legend teaches that the first shamrock was a sacred plant discovered by the Druids of Ireland. These Celtic pagans revered the shamrock for its triad leaf formation, as three was a mystical number in their religion. In the 5th century, Saint Patrick is said to have used the shamrock to teach the doctrine of the Holy Trinity to the Irish pagans. With the three leaves representing the father, the son, and the Holy Spirit. Saint Patrick is credited with introducing Christianity to Ireland and converting hundreds of Celtic castles.

During the 19th century Irish rebellion against England, wearing the shamrock took on political significance. Seen as a symbol of Irish pride, British law made wearing it punishable by death. It was during this period that the term "wearin' o the green" came into use.
Still today, displaying a shamrock and wearing green are considered expressions of Irish identification. Of course, they are no longer criminal offenses. Especially on St. Patrick's Day, when everyone - Irish or not - will be showing off their green pride. As the saying goes, "Everyone wants to be Irish on St. Patrick's Day."

Yah, I gots me the shamrock mani (ok.. so it's actually the lucky four leaf clover... IT'S GREEN with a little added luck even)... I'm totally Irish!!! But you could probably tell by the red hair; I really don't need shamrocks!!! hahahahaha! Happy St. Patty's Everyone!!!

Mani Items Used: OPI My Daddy's The King, Zoya Shivon, Konad Special Polish Green, Konad plates M60 (plaid print), M19 (french tip) and M22 (shamrock). Top Coat is Northern Lights holo.

Comments

Susie said…

Really nice. Love pink and green. :)
Susie

March 14, 2010 at 4:47 PM

Past 7 Days....

Gorgous Leaves Bundle Revisited

Yestday's Freebie Friday on a Monday projects were so fun and this set is SO BEAUTIFUL in it's simplicity! It reminds me of a long-retired stamp set from Stampin Up!. I was inspired to re-create the projects that I made with it once upon a time. So here we go.... SIMPLE projects when you need a quick "hello" or an even quicker heartfelt sympathy card: I was DEFINITELY on a Bumblebee and Cajun Craze kick yesterday! I can't stop/won't stop! LOL! To be fair... I had extra leaves die cut and didn't want anything to go to waste! A quick speckle backdrop in Bumblebee then a quick "hello" greeting from the Biggest Wish in Cajun Craze with the Cajun Craze leaf popped up on a Basic White cardbase. PERFECTION! Okay, as with yesterday's projects, the sentiment is from the recently retired SAB Delicate Dahlia's set, but you could use ANY sympathy sentiment you have in your stash. Unlike in the past when I had to mask off the center rectangle...

My Nail Stamp: Special Polish vs. Regular Polish

I do quite a few posts about the Konad nail stamper, I also READ a lot of other's posts about it. I've noticed that quite a few people ask about what to use: the Konad special polish vs. regular polish. Well, here is the low down! I use BOTH and I also use nail art paint. Each of them have pros and cons. Here's what I have found. NAIL ART PAINT PROS: Is thicker than regular nail polish (depending on the brand), but not as thick as the special nail polish. The nail art paint is usually HIGHLY pigmented due to the intended use. "Stickier" than regular nail polish which usually means a crisper image when stamped. It's usually super cheap. I buy mine from a local beauty supply store and spend $1 for each color. With some nail art paint brands , simple rubbing alcohol will remove a stamped image from your nail without removing your nail polish base color. CONS: The nail art brush is usually VERY thin making it harder to use. Image plate HAS to be cleaned in between...

COMING SOON!

You all remember the awesomely awesome nail art that I am so crazy about!?! And everyone remembers the good ol' days when visiting this blog got you an incredible discount on REUSABLE nail art to create gorgeous nails and for gift giving!?! Well if you don't, I posted a pic for you to see what I'm talking about. I did the mani shown here myself! Those are my nails that were simply stamped using Konad nail stamping products I got from Kathleen over at OC Nail Art . Well, I just got word that the "FREEZE" from the manufacturer just got lifted and we are getting our discount again!!! WOO HOO!!! PARTAY!!! So coming soon, look for our special discount code to use at http://store.ocnailart.com/ (pssst.... I think it's gonna be "FITTERTWIT"). OC Nail Art was the very first sponsor here at Fun And Mental Changes! I cannot thank Kathleen enough for everything she has done for all of my readers and I'm so thrilled that we are going to be able to shout it ...