Tea for Two - How I came up with my Scratch Covers in May

May Cover - SCRATCH 2010

Deciding to do a photo shoot is no mean feat, first you need to find a good model, and one which is happy to sport long talons, thank fully Anna has come to my rescue more than once, letting me spend all afternoon applying tips, and then getting up extra early for a gruelling day at the studio. Then you need a photographer with vision, someone who can take your idea’s and listen to your words and produce an image which is just perfect.  Finally and most importantly you need an idea, now this one is sometimes the trickiest of all to get right.

Anna Suter - Model

You need to be a little creative, and when an idea pop’s into your head write it down, no matter how vague, then you can work and expand on it.  The idea for my English rose design came from my grandmother’s tea cup, a bone china cup and saucer decorated with pink blossom;  I remember begging her to let me have a cup of tea in it when I visited as a child.  The design on the nails suited the whole look perfectly, and with spring just around the corner  I wanted to capture the promise of warm afternoon’s sat reading magazines with scones laden with jam and cream.

I have been working a lot with gel lately, and using Ez flow’s impressive range to create a light delicate look which was simple and effective.  Something really easy for you to use on your clients, these roses are the easiest to apply when they have been pre made on the Arabella forms, you can take some of those quiet moments in the salon and practise your skills, plus be productive at the same time.  Store the roses until you can apply them on your client’s free edge and cap the whole design later. Find out more at www.sambiddle.co.uk 

May Cover 2010

The Harlequin nails took a bit longer, and this photo shoot was inspired by Lady Gaga. My photographer Paul is a huge fan and whenever we have our monthly ‘creative’ meeting he plays me one of her music video’s to get me motivated.  I have a draw full of glitters and powders, spangles, and gems, shell wrap and gold leaf so this was a perfect opportunity to make use of them, making a patch work effect on the tips.  Most of the glitters came from NFU.Oh supplied by Affinti Nails and Beauty combined with some of my left over gems I worked steadily one Sunday afternoon and pre made all the tips to apply on my model the day before the shoot. These nails do take some time, but are well worth it and pre making the tips on the Arabella forms means they can be applied on the free edge and then capped and finished in no time at all. I knew this particular shot required a lot more time for the makeup, where I applied gems and  pigments over the body.  

For the step by steps on how I created these nails please visit www.sambiddle.co.uk - downloads