A Fentanyl victim- Please read and share.

On December the 2nd 2012, One of our friends 19 year old daughter was found dead after taking a lethal dose of Fentanyl. I personally had never heard of this drug. It is a prescription drug prescribed to those whom have terminal illnesses to relieve their pain, it is similar to morphine but much more potent.

I am not afraid to admit that I used to do drugs and I have been clean for 6 years.  I know how easy it can be to become addicted...

 Fentanyl has become a recreational drug, sold on the streets.  It is a patch.  A very easy addiction to hide.  There is no smell, residue, just a patch and the packaging that can easily be destroyed.

Tina Espey, had been battling an addiction to Fentanyl and had overcome her addiction but on December 2nd relapsed and took a fatal dose that ended her life.  Her parents have decided to speak out about this drug and make people aware of how deadly it is.  They have opened their home to anyone that needs to talk.

We need to spread awareness about drug use.  To take addiction as an illness and not just a careless action. No one is perfect, we are all different and there is such a shame directed towards drug users.  It is an illness just like diabetes, MS, epilepsy. If you don't want to be judged, don't judge others.

Instead, if you suspect someone might be using drugs or abusing prescription drugs, do something about it!  You may save their life.  They need help, I can guarantee you they are ashamed, are not happy with who they are but they don't know what to do.  It is a spiral downward that is almost impossible to do alone.  Don't turn your back on someone because you suspect they might have an addiction. Would you want someone to turn their back on you if you were ill or had a problem?

Please spread the word....Stop....think....educate yourself....understand.....help.

Her drug dealer tried to contact her not knowing that she had died.  Because the word is being spread, they were arrested and those drugs were taken off the streets.  I know it isn't a permanent solution but if we spread the word and help a difference can be made.  It starts with one person!

Here is some information.  Again please share

Wikipedia-Fentanyl 

Facebook Group Rest in Paradise Tina Espey

Her Story- Read it Here

Magic Spell Forever Polished - The Review

This is the second polish in Forever Polished's Winter Collection on Etsy.

You can visit Forever Polished on Etsy. Review on bottom Picture.

 

Cozy With Me Forever Polished - The Review

This is Cozy with me By Forever Polished On Etsy. As part of Ashley's Winter Collection I tried something new, the review for the polish is in the 2nd picture, let me know what you think of this idea! I think that it is more interesting then reading the test and looking at the bottle.  This way you can actually SEE what I am talking about!  I will be featuring her other polishes from the winter collection this week so come back!

You can visit Forever Polished on Etsy.

* This polish was provided to me for photography purposes and my honest opinion by Forever Polished on Etsy.  I took these pictures myself on behalf of my photography business Kandistar Photos and have given Ashley at Forever Polished full use of these images

China Glaze Magnetix Attraction VS Sally Hansen New Lengths #49

Previously I mentioned that I was going to go through my nail polish in order that I have swatched them:

Clipping from my previous post;

"Previously I have swatched all my nail polishes with no organization. Brands,Colors finishes etc, for the most part are scattered throughout the 20+ wheels I have. I want to prove to my Husband that I use all of my polishes so I will be comparing two polishes that can be similar or polar opposites whichever two are next on the wheel are against each other as I work my way through my polishes so you or I  will never know what is next.  And no matter how much I hate the polish or don't think the polishes go together I will not cheat!

Sounds kinda fun right? This will determine the bad from the good as well and polishes I will use for frankening, put up in a future blog sale/swap etc. If you decide to do this please let me know! I think it will be fun!

 China Glaze Magnetix - Attraction.  

It took me a couple of times to figure out the proper way to make the magnet work and I still am not that great.  I like this polish even without the magnetic effect.  The formula is awesome in my opinion and if I am using the magnet I use 1 coat but if I am not I use 2 as I normally do with all nail polishes for good measure.  I got this polish with the magnet at Sally's Beauty Supply.  It was actually my first time there.

VS

Sally Hansen New Lengths - #49

I can't find a name for this polish or any information for that matter.  I also have no idea where I got it.  It is a very sheer satiny finish purple with micro glitter of the same color which does nothing for the polish to accent it so it is kind of pointless.  I hated this polish so much, probably because it is so old and with it being have empty I decided to remove it from my collection.  One night my room mate and I were hanging out and she frankened her first polish using this as a base which I will post later.

Top flash off - Bottom flash on

Total Knockout!!!


Winner China Glaze Magnetix - Attraction

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Bye Bye Sally Hansen New lenghths #49

Custom Nail Art review for Black & Blue and NOTD

 This has officially taken the place of the most interesting polish in my collection.  I have never owned a polish with bar glitter so I was hesitant about application, but I must say I am quite pleased with this polish. A clear base with large blue glitter and black bar glitter I layered it over white to make the black and blue pop.  That is the name of the polish and it needs to make it known to the world.  This polish looks good with just one coat but I put on two coats as I always do for any polish.  You do have to position the glitters to your liking but the formula makes this easy.

head over to Etsy and buy this while you can, I predict this will be a hot seller! http://www.etsy.com/shop/CustomNailArt

Two coats over Essie Blanc

*This polish was graciously provided by Custom Nail are for my honest review

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Nail of the Day

This design I did really late at night when my eyes were getting heavy so the photo isn't the greatest. Instead of telling you what I used you can see for yourself in the picture below :)

Jindie Nails Santa Claws ~ The review!

I will be the first to admit I have never tried a polish with larger glitter in it as I always likes the micro glitter. Santa Claws the name sake of the Santa Claws Collex by Jindie nails is filled with square glitter in all sizes.  Red White and Black to represent Santa and green for a dash of Christmas spirit.  I love the way this polish look over black white and even natural.  It reminds me of the movie Santa Clause with Tim Allen and the special hot coco.  This is what I think would be on top of the frosting.  Like always the formula is perfect and this is another festive must have from the Santa Claws Collex by Jindie Nails on Etsy!

You can find all of her awesome seasonal and permanent collections on Etsy.  I would run though, the collex is amazing and even has some holos!

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JindieNails

Etsy Store  http://www.etsy.com/shop/JindieNails

Instagram @jindienails

This is two coats over natural white and black respectively.

* This polish was graciously provided for my honest review by Jindie Nails

Jindie Nails~Noel Review

This polish SCREAMS Christmas !!! I admit, I started to fell festive the second I laid eyes on this beautiful gem of a polish  Red, White and Green matte micro glitters with a dash of shimmery light green glitter, make you feel nostalgic as you glide the brush over your nails.  I have to say this polish makes me feel 

pepper-minty refreshed and now I cant wait to taste my first Christmas candy.

This is two coats over Natural, White and Black respectively!

You can find Jindie Nails and the rest of the super awesome Santa Claws Collex at

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JindieNails

Etsy Store  http://www.etsy.com/shop/JindieNails

Instagram @jindienails

Oh did I forget to mention.... she has some holo polishes as part of that collection...go!!!!!

* This polish was graciously provided for my honest review by Jindie Nails

Dream In Color - World Debut by Jindie Nails on Etsy

I am new to the indie polish scene, but realized it was extremely popular as I was reading nail blogs, so I decided to search for indie polishes that were my taste.  I figured the best way to search would be on Etsy, so I searched nail Polish and started looking at page after page of glittery goodness.  One polish caught my eye so I clicked on the seller and browsed through her polishes.  Jindie Nails was the seller and as I looked through her polishes I knew then, where my nail Polish budget for the week was going.  She  has an option that you can buy 10 minis of any polish and I figured that would be the best way to go.  That way I could have a bunch of her polishes and my Husband wouldn't be mad with my spending. I love her style of polishes.  I prefer dense glittery polishes and her shop is 3 pages of every polish I have to have. She is constantly releasing new collections and all of her polishes are unique and good quality.  You can tell that she gives a lot of thought to what she makes and I wouldn't be surprised if she dreams about new ideas at night.

Dream in Color is part of her brand new winter collection and when I first held this bottle on my hands I was thinking WOW!  This is the only polish I am going to wear for the next month or until it runs out.  Ideas of ways I could wear this polish just kept coming and when my Husband saw it, he grabbed the bottle from me and started twirling it around. He was just as mesmerized as I was. I was going to sit down and swatch this nail polish after I carved my Halloween pumpkin but I cut my finger close to my nail so I can't wear nail polish for a few more days.  I swatched the polish on a nail wheel so you could see its versatility.

Details - Neon Blue, Neon Green, Pink White and Black micro glitters jam packed in a clear base.  You also have the option of adding black, white or pink hearts to your bottle to make it a little more special!

From Left to Right (two coats on all)
1) Over Natural
2) Over Essie Blank
3) Over Orly Liquid Vinyl

I layered Dream in Color over Essie's NO Place Like Chrome from their Mirror Metallic's collection.  I love how it gives Dream in Color Depth and sparkle.

You can layer this over anything and it would look good. Metallic blues and silvers, a jelly Sandwich. There are so many ideas and ways you could wear this.  I will for sure be ordering a full size bottle of this ASAP!!

To see all of the goodness I am talking about RUN over to Jindie Nails!

Facebook http://www.facebook.com/JindieNails

Etsy Store  http://www.etsy.com/shop/JindieNails

Instagram @jindienails

* this polish was provided to me for my honest review by Jen owner of Jindie Nails.

October in Review...

I made myself a list of goals, and well...I wasn't too good with following through with them...... How did I do?

Editing my photo sessions is never ending
I did bake Apple Crisp Yum!!!
No yoga as I was too busy editing
NO money to go clothes shopping (and I really need to, I am losing weight and my pants are falling off!)
Didn't do any Halloween pins as I was busy editing
Not up to date with my photography blog
Didn't read a whole book
Started to clean up my files
 

So I didn't do so good but editing photos is very time consuming.  Here is hoping November is more productive.  I will be creating my goals in the next day or two!

Here are my nails for the month of October.  I haven't wrote down what I used but that will be a goal for November for sure....document EVERYTHING!

Anti-Bullying in Memory of Amanda Todd

Sally Hansen Salon Effects 

Breast Cancer Awareness

Big Blog Makeover Giveaway Winner!

After spending an hour going through entries and deleting invalid ones we have a winner!



PAM S !!!!!

She will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be picked.  Stick around I will be having a 100 Followers giveaway in the next few weeks!  And please it would be appreciated if you all would read other posts besides the giveaway ones.  It kind of makes me sad when I check seeing that my newer posts have almost no views if any.

No Foil

 I don't know if anyone else has written about this but I always hear of people using the foil method to take off glitter.  To me, that is one extra unnecessary step.  I was taking of my Polish which was Frankenstein Spit by Jindie Nails and thought I would show you what I did to save some aluminum foil.  Please excuse my nails and surrounding areas, I was taking my polish off so it isn't to pretty...

Frankenstein Spit by Jindie Nails Over Color Club Revvolution 

I used Quo By Orly Polish Remover with Acetone.  I turned the bottle once onto the pad

 I only have one circle which is perfect for one nail on the pad, which means I can use this pad for more then one nail in most cases

 Wrap the pad against the nail and hold it for 3 minutes

 Remove the pad, most of the polish will be gone, sometimes you might have to do one more swipe which I had to do here (again sorry about my gross thumb)

And That is it!  This is really easy and I personally don't understand why you have to use the foil method.  This polish is extremely difficult to remove just by rubbing the nail, it does need the remover to soak it a bit for it to lift off.  I have tried this method with other glitters to and never used foil.

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And so you can get a laugh, this is what I woke up to Friday morning...BAD DOG!

Gleamin Blue Review

 Ashley, owner of Forever Polished on Etsy sent me Gleaming blue and wow is it amazing!!!!!  I had so much fun playing with this polish and layering it over different colors.  I have never seen the small blue glitter before.  I spent quite awhile examining the bottle trying to figure out what type of glitter it is and I was mesmerized.  My Husband was with me when I opened  the package and he grabbed this one and thought it was pretty awesome!  You can visit Forever Polished on Etsy.

* This polish was provided to me for photography purposes and my honest opinion by Forever Polished on Etsy.  I took these pictures myself on behalf of my photography business Kandistar Photos and have given Ashley at Forever Polished full use of these images

The end...and the Beginning!

The time has finally arrived.  I have finished my wedding photography season and besides a couple of small photo sessions I do not have any weddings until next year!  So relieved, it is exhausting being the photographer the runner, the coordinator, the bustle fixer, the fight solver and the list goes on and on, a wedding photographer is in close quarters with the couple all day and anything that may go wrong or if  assistance is needed for anything, your camera goes aside and you are rolling up your sleeves to help!

I have been a phone blogger for most of my posts, uploading pictures and posting from my phone but I am going to start reviewing polishes for some pretty awesome indie polish makers and I am going to be having awesome features on my blog

As you know I am having a giveaway right now, and my followers have tripled in numbers.  I just hope you all stick around after the giveaway as I will be doing something for my loyal followers near Christmas ;)

No post should go without a picture or two so I will leave you with a picture my Roommate took of our dog...

And one I took the day we got him, its nothing special as far as photography is concerned but he is still cute.

A Brewing in My Mind (insert Witch Cackle)

The Autumn air motivates me.  I don't know what it is but I come alive this time of year and want to create!
I want to do something different and fun and here is the exclusive sneak peek!


Previously I have swatched all my nail polishes with no organization. Brands,Colors finishes etc, for the most part are scattered throughout the 20+ wheels I have. I want to prove to my Husband that I use all of my polishes so I will be comparing two polishes that can be similar or polar opposites whichever two are next on the wheel are against each other as I work my way through my polishes so you will never know what is next.  I still have to work out the kinks to my idea but I thought it would be fun as part of a blog post.  Of course that wont be the only part of my posts, there are still ideas brewing (bahahahahaha...hahaha......)


Oh and so this is not a picture less post I leave you with a picture taken today at my Niece's 4th Birthday Party!!  She loves her Auntie and always says "I like your nails" repeated over and over getting louder and louder until you acknowledge her) "they are so pretty...you do my nails??"  I love that kid!!

October Goals...how do you feel?

I saw a goal list over on Glow in the Dark Soul, where she had listed everything she needed/wanted to get done for the month of October.  It is an awesome idea because if you finish everything you can look back and feel accomplished and we all know how I need that positive feeling!  I only have a few goals but they themselves are pretty big and daunting tasks but if I'm dedicated, I'll do it!

On a side note (and a little rant)  I had someone tell me today that because I do not have a diploma for Photography, that I should be charging low prices?  I have been running my business for 2 years and I have a good portfolio to prove it, also where I am living, my prices are extremely competitive, she said, herself is an artist and she doesn't charge full price for her work because she is just starting out and that I am extremely unprofessional because I ask for a deposit to secure their date.  I also need to mention that she is the sister of a past client and that she is struggling financially and I worked out a lower price for her,  My time is valuable and I have had people cancel for bad hair days and not care that I could have made other plans for that day, so as a business owner I have created my own policies and guidelines, every business is different right?   Its moments like these though that make me think that I can't handle this because that really bothered me. How do you feel about this?  Do you think that she is right or do you believe that if you have the experience and produce quality work, that it doesn't matter about a diploma?  Here is the link to my photography website so you can see my work for yourself (my photography blog is on there too).

Big Blog Makeover Giveaway!

The wonderful people over at MASH nails have agreed to sponsor a giveaway featuring their nail stamping Plates 1-25 and you have a chance to win them!! The giveaway is open to anyone that has an address I can ship to from Canada! You must be a follower via GFC.  I will be verifying entries!  Hopefully after the giveaway you will stick around because my goal over the winter months is to make this blog a daily morning read!

EDIT: RAFFLECOPTER WON'T LET YOU ENTER ANSWERS TO MY QUESTIONS SO PLEASE COMMENT WITH YOUR ANSWERS IN THE COMMENTS, ONE ANSWER PER COMMENT, THANKS ;)

  a Rafflecopter giveaway

PS. This is my first giveaway so if I forgot something please let me know and I will fix it, thanks!

Please I need your votes!

I entered a Halloween nail art contest over at The Manicured Monkey  I am entry #12 and you can vote once a day!! It would mean more then anything if you could help me win!!! Below is my contest entry, just follow the link and vote in Rafflecopter!! Thanks!!!

A Sad Fail, but gorgeous colors!!!!

Among the many groups I belong to on Facebook that are nail art related is Adventures in Stamping and every week they have a vote for the challenge on Sunday.  This week you had to get someone else pick a stamping plate for you.  Ryan picked out my polishes and my plate, but secretly I didn't think it was that great, so right now my nails are naked!

I used 

Sally Hansen Extended Wear Base Coat

Wet n Wild - Saved by the Blue

Seche Vite Top Coat

Stamped with Billie Cosmetics in Rose

Mattified with NYC Matte Me Crazy

And did an accent nail with Mrs. P's Nail Potions Spectra Flair Top Coat.

You need to visit her Etsy Store.  She creates beautiful polishes and needs her name out there!!  I had the pleasure of receiving my polishes in person as she lives in Edmonton and we went down there last weekend and she is super cool and a new mom!!!

Here is Wet n Wild before the cleanup, I figure that there is no point unless I am specifically doing a swatch to clean up as I'm just going to make a mess again anyways!  Such a gorgeous blue! The formula is really thick and after 2 coats it felt like I had on five!  It also seemed to take forever to dry, but despite all that its so pretty!

 Here is my design which IMHO (In my honest opinion)  is a fail.  I didn't like this at all and apparently with the holographic polish being new to me I need to learn how to apply it and photograph it.  I stamped the image from a plate I got with a kit from the As Seen on TV store back in Ontario.  The plate is labelled B.  These were my first stamping plates and the designs are just meh.....

Zentangles!

As this blog is aimed to feature EVERYTHING wonderful in my world I wanted to share with you a drawing form that I LOVE!! It is called Zentangle.

The Zentangle® art form and method was created by Rick Roberts and Maria Thomas and is copyrighted. Zentangle® is a registered trademark of Zentangle, Inc. Learn more at zentangle.com.

Seriously, Rick and Maria are geniuses!  Anyone familiar with Zentangles, is aware that this is not doodling, in fact from what I have read "doodling" is not a nice word.  I have no idea how I stumbled across this, I have always loved drawing this way but finding Zentangle opened up a whole new world of possibilities!!

I did these three pictures for one of my best friends who also happens to be my tattoo artist.  I made these for his shop and from what I have read this is a Zentangle inspired art, a form of Zentagle.  Please go to their site and have a look around, I highly reccomend this as a tool for relaxation!

Star Blogs September 18, 2012

I have been super busy conspiring plans for this blog and editing wedding photos from 2 weddings that were in August.  That is about 6000 pictures.  I have two more weddings to go for the 2012 wedding season and then I will just be doing the odd family session here and there.  Winter is slow for on location photographers, especially when you live in Northern Canada where temperatures can go below -40 degrees Celsius brrrrrrr!!!!

I just finished going through the archives for my first Star Blog and loved every minute I spent reading it!

Nail Polish Blog!- A Little Polish- I found Stephanie's blog a few weeks ago and in between editing photos I have been going through her past posts and absorbing ocean size inspiration!  She belongs to a group that I am also in on Facebook; Adventures in Stamping.  She includes pictures of her nails in every post and she is very versatile with her nail art.  Thanks Stephanie for being my go to read these past few days while I was having a break!

B is for bows featuring Essie Blue Rhapsody

My darling Hubby brought me home Essie Blue Rhapsody, as he knew I loved the Mirror Metallic Polishes.

I want to start reviewing polishes on my blog so I will start with ones I already own and hopefully some super fantabulous indie polish makers (or even name brand polish companies) will let me do reviews for their products. 

Unfortunately I was away for the weekend and had to use my cell phone (woomp woomp woomp)

I feel it is important to not only show how the color is on the nail but to also visually document your experience.

I did this first photo after 2 coats and I am very careful with the control of my polish when painting and this one I found hard to work with, it dint want to cooperate.  This is two coats without top coat and this picture is color accurate on my computer screen, I didn't do clean up because I wanted to show you that even with careful application, the polish application was frustratingly difficult.

This is the nail art I did For Llama Nails ABC Challenge.  This week it is the letter B.  I used Essie Metallic in Blue Rhapsody, Finger Paints Laugh my Art Off (a blue Sparkle) Black striping tape from the Born Pretty Store and blue bow gems also from BPS. I stamped the Hello Kitty using Plate M71, my free gift with my order from BPS and I used My Betty Boop black polish!