More than a billion animals perished during the fires, and numbers are still climbing. Real aftermath of this catastrophe my show his ugly head in years to come.
Picture Polish wanted a story and any polish and technique could be used, but I added additional challenge to myself - to see how many different Aussie Indies I can include in this manicure, and can I actually do it with Aussie brands only...
I did use couple of other products, but I am proud to say that at least 80% of Australian Indies, some of them are still available, and some closed their doors since I purchased them. Regardless, they all represent the beautiful Australia for me, and I truly hope that I will have a pleasure to visit it one day.
As you know, I already did one manicure about this theme, and there I used kangaroo image, as one of most recognizable animals of the continent.
This time I used image of koala bear, which is actually not a bear at all but a marsupial, just like a kangaroo... I expect to see many of those in this challenge, as they seem to have amazing cuteness factor.
Unfortunately I did not have the images for the animals I wanted to do, so I have to do with what I had. To make things even more complicated, I made two manicures, and had to pick one to show you today. Tough call.
Not many people would connect Australia with the parrots or penguins for that matter, so I went into that direction.
About 1/6 of all parrots are in Australia, and I went with the Australian King Parrot, that is endemic to Australia. This is the only parrot that has completely red head, and male and female are very similar in appearance. This gorgeous bird is found in humid and heavily forested upland regions of the eastern portion of the continent, including eucalyptus wooded areas. That last tidbit made it as a perfect pair to the koala bear that also inhabit the eucalyptus woodland, and eucalyptus leaves make for the major part in their diet.
With that in common, I could not but add some eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus is raising like a Phenix raising from the ashes, and there are some sprouts already on the burned down trees, and their coloring is burgundy and light green, and that is the exact color I picked for my leaves.
Whole manicure is very symbolic, and I will list some of those as I list the all the makers I used, nail by nail.
Picture Polish wanted a story, but apparently I have lots to say, as every nail has its own story. Let me start.
Index: As a base on that nail, I used Emily de Molly - Alive by Magic - that I imagined as a fire and ambers... Over that I stamped the bare tree image that symbolize devastation after the fire, and image is found on Messy Mansion - MM049 stamping plate.
Middle: On my middle finger, I used Femme Fatale - Heart Wound as a base, and this one looks like a glow of the still burning fires. Even though some parts got some much needed rain, that helped in containing the fires, some areas got so much of the rain that it caused flash floods. From one extreme to another.
Over that gorgeous base, I stamped koala bear image + eucalyptus leaves both of which are on Powder Perfect - Woodland Creatures stamping plate.
Ring: Base for this nail is Pretty Serious - Undercover Mermaid, grey of this polish is there to represent the ashes - aftermath of the fire, that can travel by air to quite distances. Ash particles are also a huge pollutant and made quality of air miserably bad in past months. Australian King Parrot image is on Creative Shop 12 stamping plate (non Australian brand), and image is filled with Hit the Bottle - Drop Red Gorgeous + Emeralds are Forever + Espresso Martini, and I also added Glitter Gal - Buckled bronze over the sun (moon) image, to represent the smoke that with ashes made air dangerously bad to breathe - not just for the wild life, but for the humans too.
Pinky: Base is Celestial Cosmetics - Buckle up Buttercup. This nude holographic polish I imagined as a clear slate, new beginning for the Australian people and wild life. Eucalyptus leaves as a symbol of hope and rebirth, are stamped and filled in with Picture Polish - Nemesis + Lime Light.
Only other product used that was not from Australian indie is a black stamping polish.
If you read this to here, you are deserving a cookie or a piece of chocolate.
If you wish to make a donation to help Australian wildlife injured in bushfires Picture Polish supports following: Port Macquarie Koala Hospital
Currumbin Wildlife Hospital
Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park
Wildlife Victoria
AEFI & Secret Creek Sanctuary
Adelaide Koala Rescue
Wild 2 Free Kangaroo Sanctuary.
On that note, I will let you enjoy your weekend, as I actually scheduled some rest in mine.
Have a wonderful day, and I hope to see you soon.
Cheers!