Born Pretty Bowknot French Nail Stamping Plate

Good evening, friends!!  I got to try something different and totally out of my comfort zone this weekend, something familiar to a lot of you but totally foreign to me... stamping.  I got this neat little french tip stamping plate from an online nail art supply store called Born Pretty (again, maybe familiar to some of you but to me, not so much).  I think fancy tips are some of the coolest looking art out there and I was really excited to give it a shot with the very popular stamping technique and this adorable plate.  

Here's what I got.

This whole stamping thing has been very much a learning experience and there is a learning curve to it, so hopefully if you haven't ever tried it you can take a few things away from my experience.  I began with only the knowledge that I had to get a stamping polish to go with this.  In order to to transfer onto the nail properly, the color used to stamp needs to be very pigmented.  The more experienced gals use all sorts of fancy stuff based on formula alone, but I went out and bought myself a bona fide specialty stamping polish.  A few nights ago I set out my new plate and new special polish, put on my base color, and realised I should probably watch a tutorial or something before I tried to get the image onto my nails.  

It was then that I learned that you don't just put polish on the plate and press it against your nail.  You need, what do you know, an actual stamping tool!  And a scraper so you don't transfer a gooey mess only somewhat resembling the target design onto your nails.
So I tracked down for myself a little stamping starter kit including all the tools I'd need for success (which Born Pretty does carry and I would have also picked up at the same time, had I not been so stoked and distracted about the plate).  Also, as it happens, the plate comes with a protective blue cellophane cover, which I realised was there after I attempted to polish over my selected design and scrape off the excess.  Yes, I thought I'd ruined my brand new toy.
 

 
The plate itself is very cool.  There are six different delicate tip designs on it-- hearts, checkers, swirls, loopy little flowers, a lacy, branch-like pattern, and an adorable little French knot in the middle.  Lots of variety and some really nice seasonal looks.
Once I finally got my act together, I chose the design directly to the left of the middle, because it reminded me a little of a Christmas wreath, or branches intertwined in a dark, snowy forest. ;)
 

 

Like I said... definite learning curve here.  This plate is a super cute and relatively neat and easy way to add some flair to a pretty color, though.  Totally affordable, too-- here's the link to the plate, which retails for $2.99 with international free shipping (there's also a link to Born Pretty's own stamper and scraper on that page, so you can totally set yourself up right then and there, if you're not already).  On top of that, there's a coupon on the right sidebar gives an additional 10% off your order and clicks through to the store's home page.  It looks like this...

 Enter the code ELL91 in at checkout for the discount.  This plate makes a great stocking stuffer and there are lots of other fun things to look at, too.
As far as I'm concerned, my stamping can only improve from here and I'll definitely be playing around with this plate some more.  It's been a really quite fun and unintentionally humorous experience, and C is kind of excited for me to try getting a little more creative with my manicures, too.

This item was sent for review.