The reason that I try not to do a lot of nail art designs that are just base polish and then straight up stamping is that sometimes it can feel a little bit boring and like maybe people won't really be interested. That said, one of my favorite things about stamping and specifically about the best kinds of stamping plates is really being able to build a cohesive, interesting design using just a base polish (in this case a really, really gorgeous indie that I got in a destash...) and some straightforward stamping. With great plates and a little bit of creativity, I feel like simple stamping can create some great mani's!

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I have to admit, I tried some version of this mani not once but twice before I landed on this one and both times I hated the end result and almost gave up entirely on my plan to do some Ouija board nails this Halloween season. However, for some reason that I can not even fathom, the base polish for this design popped into my head as I was sipping my coffee and I knew that I had to try pairing it with some black stamping from the Maniology M071 Stamping Plate, and I'm kind of obsessed with how it turned out. 

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Do I do some version of a graveyard silhouette mani every single year? Yes, yes I do. They're a staple and I knew going into this year's planning that I was going to do at least one (and probably two, even from the start) in this style. For today's mani, I definitely took inspiration from these Fiery Dry Brush Desert Mirage Nails I did over the summer, using similar sunset neon shades as well as the dry brush gradient technique that I used for that mani, and I think it really sets this one apart from similar designs I've done in the past. 

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When I started jotting down ideas for Halloween nail art - a must if you're planning on doing 21 different designs over the course of one month - I knew I wanted to do something sort of gothic and romantic with a plummy color scheme and initially I sort of left it at that. It wasn't until I decided that I wanted a really rich, beautiful plum shade for the base that the rest of the idea started to form. I feel like today's mani really calls to the little 90s teenage wannabe goth in me and I would have basically gone insane for this design when I was 16. Of course, maybe I haven't changed that much because I'm pretty crazy for it right now as well.

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One thing that I've found as I've gained more experience with different nail art techniques is how to manipulate nail polish in certain ways. For today's mani, I'm using a technique that I'm pretty sure I invented - I don't think I've ever seen anyone do this before - and I feel like it's going to be a bit of a game changer for me when it comes to backgrounds for nail art. This is another mani that definitely evolved in process, but it all started with a loose idea of spooky trees and a sort of multicolored background.

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When I sit down to think about a whole bunch of mani's in one theme, like Halloween, I try to be mindful of a diversity of vibes, if you will. By which I mean, I don't want to live too firmly in one mood or style if I'm going to be creating a bunch of different mani's in the same theme. With Halloween, I think there are a lot of different directions that it makes sense to go, even if the knee jerk is to keep it creepy and spooky. For today's mani, I'm leaning pretty heavily into cuteness with this straight up kitty and pumpkin design! Also, here in Canada, today is Thanksgiving, so I figured this would be a good way to acknowledge that particular holiday without stepping outside of my every day is Halloween plans - two birds stoned and all that.

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With how involved and detail heavy a lot of my Halloween nail art designs have been this year, sometimes I just have to dial it back and it keep it a little more simple. Admittedly, as a card carrying member of the Kitchen Sink Society, keeping it simple isn't necessarily my forte, but I do try from time to time. The trick, for me, when it comes to simple designs is that they have to be really specifically thought out and put together or they're just boring. Honestly, I don't know if I pulled that off with this mani, but I really, really love it!

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So the thing is... I know that spiderwebs are getting a LOT of play over the course of this month, but I really just can't seem to help myself. Not only so I just love them in general, but I also find them really versatile as far as creating different Halloween design. For today's mani, I kept it really simple and straightforward but also... real creepy and Halloween-y, if you ask me. Anyway, let's just get to the nails, shall we?

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For a solid couple of years now, I've really wanted to do a sort of layered, hazy, foggy kind of graveyard design, but I always talked myself out of it. This year, I actually specifically got my hands on the stamping polishes that I knew I would need to create this design with it specifically in mind. I also knew as soon as I saw the Maniology M071 Stamping Plate that the graveyard silhouettes on that plate would be perfect for this design since they're so long and have good variation to make each layer different. 

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Every year when I'm doing Halloween nail art, my inner 80s/90s kid just jumps up and down and screams for some Lisa Frank vibes and, really, who am I to turn down my inner child? Also, I just love a neon background with some really stark black stamping. In the end, this design is a lot and packs some serious punch, but also... it's really a super simple and straight forward design that I think just about anyone could recreate!

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