Softly Swirling

I've still got a little more swatching to do before I'm ready to post Part 2 of my picks from OPI's new Brazil collection.  It's such a tempting assortment that I wound up with seven shades...and Nichole even got one herself!  So today I've got a little stamping I did while swatching Part 1.  Something about Next Stop...The Bikini Zone just called out for embellishment.

I wanted something that would almost vanish against the golden taupe shift of Bikini Zone.  Sally Hansen Coat Of Arms worked even better than I'd hoped.  It's become sort of a go-to for stamping for me.  The plate I used is Pueen 59, another from their Stamping Buffet set.  I can't get over how awesome this style of plates is.  You can use the same part each time and get a "normal" stamping effect, try to line the images up, or do what I did here and not just use different areas of the image, but also slightly turn the plate sometimes.  The effect this time is more "freeform" and I'm really happy with how it turned out.

It wasn't the easiest thing to photograph, but I think it shows up well enough.  In person the stamping went from standing out to blending in as the color of Bikini Zone shifted.

When I mattified it, the effect was much stronger.  The image shows up more clearly, but the contrast is less sharp.

Like Bikini Zone itself, it's right on that border between bold and soft.

The more I play around with these new Pueen plates, the more I love them!