Hot Summer Sky Gradient with 'PVA Cleanup'

Greetings All!

This is the last in the little series of gradients I did. I might have to do some more! I don't like to do the same thing over and over again, in case I get bored (erm, apart from stamping lol. I do THAT all the time!) but I do love a good gradient.

Again, this was another one loosely based on the evening sky - it's a bit vivid, maybe a tropical sky? I'm not really sure. It's another one I'm quite proud of though!

For the gradient I used Sally Hansen Yellow Kitty, and Barry M Gellys in Mango, Grapefruit and Plum. I keep using Plum, but it isn't actually all that great to gradient with - it's a little too pigmented, and it tends to get everywhere! I should stick to stamping with it really. The Barry Ms are pretty good generally though - the thin brush makes it easier to get four colours on the sponge. I had to cover up the plummy staining with something, so I chose Maybelline Chalk Dust. I thought black and white might look pretty striking over such bright colours. I think I'm right!

I also thought I'd show you a quick pic of my cleanup. Recently I've been using PVA glue round my nails so I don't have to spend hours getting rid of all the polish on my skin. I'm a bit of a mucky pup so there's a lot of cleanup! I forgot to take a pic of the the 'putting the glue on' bit, but basically I use a paintbrush to paint a thickish layer all around my cuticles, being careful not to get it on my nails (else you remove part of the gradient!). I let that dry fully, then gradient as normal. Here's what it looks like post-sponging.

See? I'm very messy! Especially trying to fit four colours on my nails. Look at all that purple skin! That would take ages to cleanup, and Plum can be quite stainy.

This is after removing the glue (I use tweezers, an orange stick, or just my fingers!)

It isn't perfect - I do still have to cleanup a bit around the cuticles, and I didn't paint the glue quite far enough up my fingers, but it's removed the vast majority of polish from my skin and saved me loads of time! I love this little trick! It would also work for other messy techniques - splatter nails, for example. I don't think it would work for watermarbling, as it's a water based glue, although it's a possibility as you wouldn't have your fingers in the water for long, and the glue would get covered by polish. I'm not brave enough to try though!