Oktoberfest Nail Art Contest Entry

Over at Angelina's Nails & More, Angelina is hosting an Oktoberfest nail art contest! This is the first nail art contest I was really excited about! As you probably know already, I moved to Germany to be with my then-boyfriend of 7.5 years and end our long distance relationship. In 16 days, it will be my 1 year anniversary of moving here. :) I have been here for two other Octobers, but this is the first year that we will actually be partaking in Oktoberfest festivities! A couple friends of ours have invited us to the local Oktoberfest (not the original in Munich), so my husband and I are shopping for a dirndl and lederhosen. 

For this nail art contest, I decided to do each nail as a tribute to something iconic related to Oktoberfest. 

From left to right, we have a piece of Lebkuchen with "ICH LIEBE DICH" written on it (That means "I love you." Lebkuchen is a traditional gingerbread heart cookie, typically the size of a dinner plate and hung by ribbons. They are sold at most festivals and markets in Germany.), a purple dirndl (complete with a bit of cleavage), men's lederhosen with a red and white plaid shirt, and the signature colors/pattern of Bavaria (where Oktoberfest is held).

For my other hand, I had this vision of a banner with "OKTOBERFEST" written on it, so I drew a banner across three of my nails. I was really happy with how the banner itself came out! After doing my thumb on my left hand, I envisioned the design for my right pinky: a bunch of soft pretzels. Bretzeln (or pretzels in German) are a popular on-the-hand food at festivals and markets, more so than Lebkuchen. The Germans know how to celebrate and drink their wine/beer! But as anyone who has had a few drinks can attest to, you need something in your stomach to soak up some of that booze. :) The brown, grays, and blue text colors were hand-mixed.

Because my nails are so curved, it's a bit difficult to see every letter on the banner, but I promise they are there. :)

For my right thumb, I drew one of the popular hats worn at Oktoberfest. They're made of a rather stiff, thick gray felt with a wool ribbon for detail. It's not the only popular hat related to Oktoberfest, but I just love the look of this type. I mixed up a gray for the main shape of the hat before remembering that I own a gray polish that looks like cement with the little light and dark gray specks in it (Essence Vampire's Love - The Dawn is Broken). I went over the base with this polish to give it some texture. The base yellow is CC Almost Famous with a hand-mixed lighter yellow polka dot background. The blue on the wool ribbon is also a hand-mixed color that I created using a white polish and Catrice's Blues Brother Vol. II. It's the same color I used on the Oktoberfest banner.

On my left thumb, I used the traditional Bavarian white and blue for a sort of star burst background. In the foreground, I painted a pretzel and a frothy mug of beer. The brown and gray of the pretzel and the yellow and gray of the beer mug were also hand-mixed colors. I really like how they turned out.

The contest ends on October 7th and then the photos of each entry will be posted on Angelina's blog for voting. I'll be sure to post here when the voting begins (I'd love for anyone who truly thinks my art should win to vote. Also, just vote for your favorite, even if it's not mine. ;) ) in case you'd like to vote. The winner will receive the new summer Cheeky stamping plates. The only plates I have are from Essence and Born Pretty and I've really been lusting over these plates.

What do you think? Have you ever been to Oktoberfest? Would you like to see pictures after our local Oktoberfest in a couple of weeks?