NEW 31 Day Challenge: Inspired by Nature

Hello, loves! Today is a very big day for me- our challenge prompt is Inspired by Nature. I wanted to do something to really challenge myself, and I fell in love with this photo. So I set about recreating it, and actually took step by step photos. So, without further ado, I give you my very first tutorial!

In addition to your polishes (which I will list with each step), you will need a cosmetic sponge. I cut mine up into about 9 pieces- on the left is the chunk that I used, versus the full sponge on the right.

I started with a base of Sally Hansen Hard As Nails No Hard Feelings, a lilac creme. Using a corner of my tiny sponge bit, I dabbed down the center of my nail using Sinful Colors Amethyst (a medium purple creme), making sure to let the lighter purple shown down the center. 

All sponging was done with a small corner of my tiny sponge pieces. I used about three bits throughout this design. Your mileage may vary, based on how many colors you use.

Around the outside of the Amethyst sponging, I dabbed on NYC In A Minute Battery Park Purple (dark plum creme). To lighten up the middle even more, I sponged on Sinful Colors Mauve (pale grey-lavender), covering most of the No Hard Feelings that I left open in the first step.

Around the outside of the Battery Park Purple, almost to the edges of my nails, I sponged on Sinful Colors Inkwell (blackened plum). 

On the very edges of my nails, I dabbed on Pure Ice Party Hard (dark navy creme). Then I randomly sponged on some Orly Fowl Play (dark purple flakie glitter) over the whole nail, to deepen the color and add some sparkle. 

The sponging part is done! Yay! At this point, I cleaned up a little bit, then painted over the whole nail with Revlon Glimmer Gloss Pina Colada Pop (gold iridescent micro glitter), to give the whole thing a night sky feeling. 

And the Grand Finale! Using the thinnest brush I had and a white creme polish, I zigzagged across the nail, through the lightest center part, branching out near the tips to create the lightening forks. I found that shaking my hands slightly made for a very nice, jagged electricity bolt effect. I topcoated (Seche Vite) while the white  polish was still tacky, which softened the lines a bit more.

What are your thoughts? Have you ever tried lightening bolt nails? What awesome power of nature inspires you? Be sure to check out the rest of the amazing manis in the links below!