Family Appreciation Nail Art #3 - Texas Hold 'Em!

Sorry I was MIA for so long! I had a long week with homework and allergies trying to kill me. Apologies in advance for ranting more than normal for this family appreciation, this one is a big one. Today I decided to (finally) finish my nail art that is dedicated to my dad. He has been supportive of everything I've done since I was a little kid, and nail art is no exception. My dad is a software engineer, a super smart guy, and a talented poker player. First, a little backstory on why poker means so much to me. When I was very young, I felt very inferior to both of my sisters. They were both in different sports, they were good at math, naturally talented at writing, taller than me...You name it, I was insecure about it! My dad was taught to play Texas Hold 'Em by my great-grandfather (his maternal grandfather) when he was very young, and he taught us in turn. When my sisters and I were much younger, we often had poker tournaments at the house. I was always really excited about them because I was actually good at poker! It really gave me something to be proud of and feel secure about at a time in my life where I felt useless. Since then, I've grown to accept my strengths and those of my siblings, but poker was the only thing that I felt good at for a long time. I still watch poker with my dad fairly regularly and I love when he calls me when he's playing to get advice or to tell me stories. It's something that has really bonded us over the years and I can't imagine our relationship without poker conversations!

As I've said, my dad has been so supportive throughout the years for every random thing I've grown attached to. He was even supportive when I got a tattoo of all of the card suits since it was in his honor. He is a very frugal and reasonable guy, so he doesn't remotely understand the amount of money that I spend on nail polish. He worries about my finances and constantly keeps an eye out for my sisters and I in that regard. He's done so much for us and he continues to astound me everyday with how amazing he is at being a dad. He shares my nails with friends from work (hi friends!), he asks me to send him pictures of my nails almost every day, he asks to see them whenever he gets home; I just can't even explain how much all of his support means to me. Now that I'm done being all sappy, I'll get to the actual nail art!

I stuck with black, white, red, and green ($$$$) for this mani, so it's pretty simplistic.

For the thumb and pinky finger, I used two coats of Supernatural Lacquer "Prototype 3" as a base. This shade is not available anymore, but it is extremely close to "GED & A Give Em' Hell Attitude." On my thumb, it was covered in one coat of Supernatural Lacquer "We Kill the Sparkly Ones For Free." I've blurred it a bit in this picture so you can see all of the gorgeous holo glitter in it!

On my pinky finger, I used one coat of 365 Days of Color "Nothing Suits Me Like A Suit." I know, I know, I basically put this on everything. It's just one of those must-have, perfect glitter toppers!

On my pointer finger, I used one coat of A England "Camelot" topped with one coat of 365 Days of Color "Pulling. It. Off." Again, this is just one of my must-have glitters! I use it on everything.

On my middle finger, I did a gradient using Pretty Serious Cosmetics "Nightmaren" for the base. I did one easy coat of Nightmaren with a quick coat of NYC "Grand Central Station" to seal it in. After that dried, I sponged on a combination of Nightmaren and Camelot until it was blended enough for what I had in mind.

Lastly, my ring finger! For this, I started with one thick coat of OPI "Alpine Snow." After that had dried enough, I put on one coat of GCS and let that dry completely. I decided that I'd rather use polish for this than acrylics since I really wanted the shimmer in Nightmaren to show up on the accent nail. I honestly used the tip of a sharpened colored pencil and a dotting tool to do every suit on here!

I hope you all enjoyed what is my second-to-last family nail art!