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The Queen Series is a weekly feature happening on Wednesdays. Each week one of us from The Digit-al Dozen will introduce you to our blog, tell you about how we got started, and talk a little about how we ended up being the Queen of something. We all have unique talents when it comes to nail art, and our Queen titles reflect that. Check out other Queen of...posts in this series.
Name: Sheila Gage, the Queen of "Painterly"
Blog: Pointless Cafe
Twitter: @scottishlass10
Facebook Page: Pointless Cafe
Pinterest: Pointless Cafe
YouTube: Sheila Gage
Tumblr: I Am Pointless Cafe
G+: Scottish Lass
Instagram: PointlessCafe
Sheila lives in Texas with her two dogs. She's a painter and a blogger. Formerly 25+ years in the title/escrow business, she's happy to work from home now, doing what she loves.
Hi everyone!
The Queen of Painterly. HA! You know Debbie (The Crumpet) came up with THAT word! But for lack of anything better, I'm using it! It's an adorable word and something for me to grow into! I do a lot of toothpick marbles, but I also do a lot of "paintings" on my nails. I've always been all over the map - even with my art on canvas. It's mostly abstract but there are a few landscapes in there too. Just like with my nails. I love free-handed patterns like argyle but I think my forte is probably just, well..."painterly!" Though I do have a feeling that Queen of Erratic would be a better fit.
I'll just tell you a bit about myself as I show some of the nail art I've done in the past.
I work from home, blogging, painting on canvas, doing Social Media for myself and others and I day trade some. Love being home with my dogs!
Hi everyone!
The Queen of Painterly. HA! You know Debbie (The Crumpet) came up with THAT word! But for lack of anything better, I'm using it! It's an adorable word and something for me to grow into! I do a lot of toothpick marbles, but I also do a lot of "paintings" on my nails. I've always been all over the map - even with my art on canvas. It's mostly abstract but there are a few landscapes in there too. Just like with my nails. I love free-handed patterns like argyle but I think my forte is probably just, well..."painterly!" Though I do have a feeling that Queen of Erratic would be a better fit.
I'll just tell you a bit about myself as I show some of the nail art I've done in the past.
I work from home, blogging, painting on canvas, doing Social Media for myself and others and I day trade some. Love being home with my dogs!
It's been nearly 4 years since I started blogging. After my husband passed, I needed something to occupy my time so I started painting. A few years later I was planning to move and put everything into storage. I didn't end up moving so It started as an outlet for me and wasn't polish-related at all. There are some funny stories there from the beginning months if you want to go back and take a look!
When I started, I had something I wanted to say and no blog, so I started one quickly, before I lost what I wanted to say. Like in an hour. There was really no thought put into the name other than I didn't want to pigeon-hole myself if I ever wanted the blog to change direction. And it did just that! I figured what I had to say was mainly pointless...and I like coffee. LOL! So nothing cerebral going on there...no deep meaning for the name of my blog.
Of course I don't know why people read my blog, I'm just happy they do! But I would hope it's because I have a weird sense of humor and I'm honest. While I can't give them photographically gorgeous photos, I do hope I give them accurate representations of the polish I swatch...good or bad. And I hope they read because I'm honest about formula, application, etc. I'm not into trying to be someone else. I only know how to do me and the fact that anyone reads is a pleasant surprise!
Facebook is my favorite social medium because honestly, I'm not great at Twitter or IG. I'm improving though! Slowly. You can follow me at @pointlesscafe on IG and hopefully I'll keep getting better at posting sneak peeks and things I don't do a full blog post about.
There are four posts right now (over the nearly 4 years) that are running neck and neck for "most popular post of all time." Ninja Polish Divinity, Chanel Reflets D'et Collection for Summer 2014, Poptastic Toothpick Marble Tutorial and a non-polish post called Thank Goodness for Quilted Toilet Paper.
The hours I put into my blog vary depending on what's going on in my "real life" at the time. Some days I put in 12 to 14 hours and other days zero. Until very recently, I would post at least twice a day so I was averaging 4 to 8 hours a day. I've cut back lately but I think it's temporary.
And I really don't plan or have a proper "blogging schedule." I fly by the seat of my pants.
I often get asked what I wish I were better at. Well, I wish I were better at scheduling for one. But I also wish I could work with nail art tools. I make such a mess with my stamping attempts and don't even get me started on striping tape! I've found that stuff on my elbow and yes, my, um, posterior. Even in my hair once. How I get it everywhere I don't know. So usually it's just easier for me to freehand stuff. And much less stressful.
My earliest polish memory was when I was five years old. I was going to see the Easter Bunny and I insisted on dressing myself. I wore a purple and white striped body-blouse (you know, the ones that snap underneath) and a purple mini skirt with purple tights and black patent leather go-go-boots. I stomped my little feet and insisted on polishing my own nails, which I did. In RED.
And over 40 years later I'm still doing my own nails. And I occasionally still stomp my feet. LOL!
Another question I get asked all the time is about how many polishes I have. Actually, I honestly don't know. I get tons in for review and I still buy some now and then but I give a ton of it away too, so it's hard to keep track. If I had to guess I'd say "around 4k?"
The ever-present "deserted island" question is still impossible for me. So I've come up with a sort of amended version including my top 5 polishes and that's still hard. Well the first one is easy. a-England Sleeping Palace. The other 4 would have to be Nails Inc. Devonshire Row, Elevation Polish Shilin Stone Forest, Above the Curve Friday the Thirteenth 1 and Elevation Polish Toubkal.
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| Nails Inc. Devonshire Row |
But my favorite brand? It's only difficult in that there are so many I love. But Elevation Polish is my favorite brand. Lulu is a true craftsperson and she also has the "sciency" background and a real knack for not only the creative side, but also making a consistently fantastic formula, dealing with the business side and she's fantastic at customer service. The total package. When she started, it was a long time before she ever released her first polish to the public. She spent lots of time perfecting every aspect of it and it definitely shows. She marches to the beat of her own drum and never created anything just because "everyone else was." And the beat of HER particular drum is music to MY fingers.
As far as which polish brand do I own the most of? Well that would have to be Zoya, followed very closely by Elevation Polish.
I am a total creme-lover. Nothing beats a great creme. But a fabulous crelly micro-flake comes pretty darned close. I'm really not into glitter at all. There are exceptions to that, but not many. The glass-fleck/flake polishes make me weak in the knees as well.
My top nail care tips probably won't be for everyone. I have pretty hard nails. I find that the less I mess with them, the better they do. So I rarely use a base coat just because they don't seem to work well with my particular body chemistry. I only file if I absolutely can't avoid it and only with a 4-way buffer block. I never ever do anything to my cuticles except put on cuticle oil/cream when I happen to remember, which honestly isn't often enough. If I try to "do all the things" I end up with ragged cuticles, peeling nails, etc. I'm just totally backwards. So the only tips I can think of that would apply to everyone would be to swipe the nail with acetone before polishing to remove the oils for better adhesion and wrapping the tips for less tip wear. I did a blog post about that. Well that and just know yourself. Know your own body chemistry and don't do something just because it's "the norm."
My favorite mail art theme or challenge I've participated in so far has beenThe Digit-al Dozen Countries and Cultures prompt! I had a blast with that one. Anytime I get to do Scotland, I'm happy.
As far as my personal favorite bloggers, people who inspire me - there are oh so many! Phyrra is a posting machine and so varied in her content. I love that. Sarah at Chalkboard Nails is so creative. Honestly I have several hundred on my Bloglovin that I follow and I get inspired by each and every one of them.
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The best thing that's happened to me so far in the blogging world I think was actually joining the Digit-al Dozen. Getting the luxury of doing more nail art was a great thing and I'm a much happier blogger now because of it. I think "proudest moment" was being contacted by Nail It! Magazine and appearing in the online version several times - that was great. And i always love being contacted by brands to create my own shade. That's so much fun!
As far as my set-up or work space, no one needs to see behind THAT particular curtain. I just do them at my desk in my home office. In front of the computer and television. I still use the lid from a remover bottle with acetone for my nail art clean-up. I've tried a light box and never could nail that. Like at ALL. So I use a cheap clip-on desk lamp from Walmart with a daylight bulb and for shade/indirect lighting photos I hoist my butt up out of the chair and walk about 8 steps to the window. For sun photos I have to walk all the way across the house and out the front door. LOL. So sophisticated. But I'm not a photographer. I'm never going to be one of those bloggers with beautiful photographs. Although that would be great and I do hope to learn one day, my main goal is that readers see the actual polish and what it really looks like. I love looking at beautiful photographs but when it comes to deciding what to spend my own money on, I want to see the polish. So I treat my readers accordingly. Though I really do wish I had the ability to do those "pretty" photos for my nail art.
When I first started attempting nail art, it was hard. I paint on large canvases and scaling things down was nearly impossible. It's like water skiing versus snow skiing. The first time I went snow skiing, I leaned backwards, like you do on the water, and fell all the way down the mountain. So I started a weekly series, each Saturday, called Copy Caturday. I would choose a manicure by some other blogger/nail artist and try to re-create it. Now I get inspired for nail art like I do for my art on canvas. Sometimes it's a pattern or color-combo I see in clothing, sometimes it's as simple as the light coming through tree branches or a place I've visited. Inspiration can come from anywhere!
As far as whose nails I wish I had, well I wouldn't kick Sveta Sanders''s nails out of bed (@sveta_sanders on IG)! There are so many! Nail Polish Wars, Royal Milk Tea, Brit Nails, Globe and Nail. I'm generally pretty okay with my own though. They don't chip or break a lot, which is about all you can ask for.
So that's a bit about me! Probably more than you ever wanted to know. Check out past posts in this series to get to know the rest of the artists in the Digit-al Dozen!.
So that's a bit about me! Probably more than you ever wanted to know. Check out past posts in this series to get to know the rest of the artists in the Digit-al Dozen!.
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