Palm tree silhouette pedi

Here's a pedicure I did for my trip to Florida this summer. I used neon orange polish(I think China Glaze) and then I freehanded the palm trees.

SensatioNail gel manicure kit

So a few weeks ago I was on twitter and I noticed a certain Beverly Hills housewife was offering a contest for the best summer manicure. I submitted a few pictures of my nail art and a week later I found out I won! The prize was an at home gel manicure kit with the uv lamp and everything. I had never gotten a gel manicure before (mostly because I change my nails so often) but I was excited to try it. The results were really great. It took a while to do but I've had the polish on for a week and still no chips. Here a pic of my nails a week later!

Some new DIY's

Here are two pieces of ceramic jewelry that I recently made. I had never used these techniques before so I am really excited that they turned out so well.

Quick lunch break mani

My nails were looking not so nice so this is what I did during my lunch break today. Pretty productive!

My new pink highlights

Here's a look at my new pink highlights. I love them

Weekend DIY: coffee table makeover

I have been wanting to add some pizazz to my old ikea coffee table for a while. Today after some very needed spring cleaning and living room rearranging I decided to give it a shot. The original finish of the table is a dark wood so I taped off some stripes and painted them with a very light gray. I used blue painters tape and it worked really well, no paint bled through. Then I cut out some beautiful parts of some fabric I had and modge podged them on. I will probably need to give the whole thing a coat of clear acrylic gloss but here are the results so far.

Manicure Sunday

Hello all. Today's manicure is inspired by tribal prints. I used a bunch of different colors. They remind me of feathers. What do you think?-Allie

Coral branch nails

Hello all. This week I wanted my nails to reflect the warm weather we have been having in Boston lately. Sure it's no tropical paradise here, but I can dream. Enjoy!

Vintage Love

I am loving my new vintage cam app. My favorite effect is called "rainbow". Don't the hubby and I look so hipster?

One of my favorite DIY's

I have been an artist for pretty much my whole life. I painted with my Nana and sewed with my Grammy as a child. I went to art school and studied painting. I seem to always be making or creating something. One in a while I will get these spurts of creative energy and I start what seems like ten projects at once. This necklace was the start of my newest creative kick. I used scraps of fabric from my wedding and beads I had laying around to create this necklace. Since I wear every color at once most days, it goes with pretty much anything.

Abstract flowers and vines nails

This nail art is a mix of many different techniques. I used striping, gems, and polymer flowers. The color underneath is China Glaze "riveting", part of the Hunger Games collection. I'm totally obsessed with the Hunger Games and this nail design seems very Capitol-esque. Enjoy!!-Allie

Strawberry Nails!

Hello All,
Here are some photos of my latest nail creation, strawberries! They remind me of warmer weather and summer fun! Enjoy!-Allie

My obsession with leather wrap bracelets

 I love making and wearing leather wrap bracelets. They are so easy and fun to make. I have made a lot for gifts. I like wearing them all at once, the more the better! -Allie

bracelet made from the scraps of my last project!

I used the extra ends that I cut off of my embroidery floss necklace and a failed leather wrap bracelet that I made a while ago (the loop that holds the button fell off) and mad a fab bracelet. Here are the results!

Rhinestone and embroidery floss necklace

I found a picture of a necklace made out of different colors of embroidery floss and a vintage rhinestone necklace. I knew I could make one so I went to the local fabric store and bought seven different colors of embroidery floss. I cut them all three times the length of my necklace and then knotted them together on one side.                                                                   

Then I separated the strands into three equal chunks and began to braid. After I braided the floss about 6 inches longer than the rhinestone necklace, I knotted off the other end.

 

Then came the tricky part. I used a coordinating length of floss and a sewing needle to attach the necklace to the braid. This took a few tries but after a while i got the hang out it.

 Finally, I attached the clasp from the original necklace to the knots of the thread to create a new clasp for my necklace. Voila!

-Allie

ombre capris

I had some extra fabric dye from my batiking project so I wanted to try an ombre effect on a pair of capris. The dye soaked in a little unevenly which gave the fabric a tie-dye effect but still cool!

Painting high heels

I really wanted some floral print heels for spring but the ones I have seen in stores are so expensive! I decided to experiment with some textile paint and an old pair of heels that I don't wear anymore. The result was awesome, I just have to spray them with a clear acrylic sealer.

Batiking with kids...

This week has been school vacation which still means work for me. The extended day program I work for is open during school vacation and it is a great time for me to try out some special art projects with the kids. I wanted to try a batik project with them, which is basically a wax resist on fabric that is hand dyed. It turned out great! The kids had so much fun experimenting with the different color dyes and so did I. I dyed some fabric scraps a variety of bright colors and brought them home not knowing what I would do with them.

I decided to use that beautiful dyed fabric scraps to make a necklace. I braided the pieces together, tied them off with some leather cording and added some beads. Voila! Here is the end result, I cant wait to wear it this summer. It is very tribal chic.

Welcome to Lacquer of Luxury!

Hello all! Welcome to my blog that is dedicated to all that is colorful, creative, and sparkly! I am an artist and teacher and I love creating in many different ways. A huge hobby of mine is nail art. For my first post I will share with you some nail art creations I have completed so far, and I will post as I create more. I hope you enjoy!

frankenails!

                                          

ombre pink leopard print

cupcakes!

abstract

peacock feather nails

hearts and bows

sugar skulls

owls

-Allie