One-Year Blogiversary!

Hello to all my amazing loyal followers! So, as you probably guessed from the title, it's my one year blogiversary (well, actually, it was yesterday, but oh well). I really had no idea what to do, which is why this is being posted at 11:00 PM one day late. I decided to try and sum up my most memorable parts of the year for you all. Here goes nothing!

The post I'm most proud of: Oh, goodness, definitely my Phanpy nails. I know that they're definitely not my best design, but I really loved them. I spent hours trying to figure out how I could possibly pull this one off, and I was really nervous about how they'd turn out. I didn't want to turn my favorite pokemon into a really screwed up attempt at nail art. The fact that they were recognizable as a Phanpy (or at least as an elephant) equals an A in my book. This was the first time I decided to be brave and attempt something completely out of my comfort zone, and no matter how they look, I couldn't have been more proud of these.

My most embarrassing post: My first post. Yupp. I can't really describe why I'm so embarrassed by it. But wow. I thought I was so cool back then, lol! Looking back, though... ehh, oh well. We all have to start somewhere, right?

The most fun post I've ever done: My bubbling cauldron nails. Without a doubt. I still have people who come up to me and when they mention my nail art, they tell me how they love this design. From months ago. Hehe, that always makes me feel good about myself. But honestly, these were unbelievably fun to do. Even more fun then creating the design was watching friends' (and even some strangers') reactions to them. I had a  bunch of "cool nails." Probably even more "ewws" (which, yes, I take as a compliment, hehe). Someone even asked to touch them (yeah, that was pretty awkward). I'm so sad I was only able to wear these for Halloween season. *sigh*

The post I want to re-do: I'd choose these flowers. I think I had the basic concept, but there's so much more I could do with them. I could have really cleaned them up and made them less... sloppy. The polka dots, an afterthought, also didn't turn out as well as they could have. Maybe I'll try them again soon and do a tutorial to go along. Hmm, I like that idea...

What I think I've improved the most on: My photography. I mean, just look at my first photo. I obviously had no idea what I was doing. Terrible lighting, only one finger in the entire photo... arg. Too embarrassing. I've really figured out what hand positions show off the nail designs best. My lighting's improved even more. I've gone from using natural light (which is extremely unpredictable) with a tan wall as a background to a fancy white light and a light box. It's fun to look back at my older photos and see how much I've improved.

From this...

... to this!

My favorite part about blogging: The people. Okay, I know that sounds cheesy. But the nail polish community is probably one of the most supportive, kind groups of people you'll ever meet. I know we have fair share of drama, but in the bigger picture, the nail polish community is full of amazing, wonderfully talented  people who I'm glad to know.

And that's it! I feel like I didn't actually write much in this post, so if you guys have any questions about me, nail polish, or... well, just about anything, let me know in the comments,  on Facebook, or Twitter,  or at polishedplatypus@gmail.com. And then I want to take a moment to thank all of you for helping my blog be what it is today. You guys are the best readers in the world. Here's to another fun year of blogging!

- Muffin