I joined a book club! I've been reading a ton lately so I jumped at the chance to join The Polished Bookworms group on Facebook. Each month we vote on a book to read and then later in the month discuss it and post a manicure based on what we've read. The book for January was Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.
I was inspired by the scene where Madeline runs into Bonnie (her ex-husband's new wife) while out Christmas shopping.
Bonnie had arranged for the whole family to volunteer at a homeless shelter on Christmas morning. "I just hate all that crass commercialism of Christmas, don't you?" she'd told Madeline last week, when they'd run into each other in the shops. Madeline had been doing Christmas shopping and her wrists were looped with dozens of plastic shopping bags. Fred and Chloe were both eating lollipops, their lips a garish red. Meanwhile Bonnie was carrying a tiny bonsai tree in a pot, and Skye was walking along next to her eating a pear. ("A fucking pear," Madeline had told Celeste later. For some reason she couldn't get over the pear.)
I couldn't get over the pear either! I painted two red lollipops for Madeline's children and a bonsai tree and pear for Bonnie and her daughter Skye.
I couldn't be happier with the way the lollipops came out. The sticks really complete the look! I started with a coat of Hit the Brakes from Spoiled. It's a red jelly that was perfect for the shiny red candy. I used white and brown polish to paint in the detail of the sticks and the round center of the lollipop then gave it another coat of Hit the Brakes to create a pond manicure effect with the details encased in the "candy." I rolled up bits of paper and stuck them to the under side of my nail to complete it.
For the bonsai tree I started with a sponged grey and white gradient- Sinful Colors, Snow Me White and Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Ion. The tree trunk is Spoiled, Pumping Gas and the leaves are a combination of Sally Hansen Hard as Nails, Limestone; China Glaze, Holly-Day and China Glaze, Don't Get Derailed.
The base for the pear is also SH Limestone. I sponged patches of Spoiled, Did I Dye It Too Blonde? which doesn't show too much, but possibly adds to the mottled texture of the pear skin. I used Spoiled, Pumping Gas for the dots and stem.
I'm not a very picky reader. I'll pick up anything as long as it's interesting. I wouldn't have thought to choose this book myself, but it was both entertaining and serious at the same time, touching on topics of domestic abuse and the difficulties of relationships in general.
Right now I'm averaging around 3-4 books per month, so I'm going to run out of things on my reading list soon. What's your favorite book? Tell me what I should read next. :)
Here's what everyone else in the group is up to:
Here's what everyone else in the group is up to: