franken-polish "Mo Duinne" {inspired by Outlander}

Mo duinne, "my brown one", as Jamie affectionately calls his Claire.  At least, as he calls her in  Book One, Outlander, and Book Two, Dragonfly in Amber.  After this, the phrase magically changes to the correct Gaelic translation, mo nighean donn.  Okay, so mo duinne as a term of endearment may have been an accidental fabrication, but it is still heart-grippingly sweet when bestowed upon the heroine by her adoring warrior husband.  So let's just suspend disbelief for a moment, and savor the sentiment.  Shouldn't be too difficult, really; after all, that's what romance is all about!

When I set out to create this polish, I decided I didn't want it to simply mimic the natural, obvious brown of Claire's hair and eyes.  I felt it needed to reveal Claire as Jamie saw her: with warmth, and passion, and radiant, rosy love.  I started with a rich reddish brown, and infused it with a haze of sweet shimmering pink, like rose-colored glasses.  Flecks of gold and silver, and a gossamer rainbow veil, emulate the nimbus radiated by a loved one in the eyes of their lover.  The face of a person you love always shines a bit brighter to you than the rest, does it not?  When Jamie says "my brown one", what he really means is "my everything".

>>> mo duinne <<<

 

frankenpolish "Vintage Hydrangea"

There is a special time on a winter night when the milky sky will gather up all the snow-reflected light, and create from it an opaline mauve glow.  This color reminds me of that phenomenon, one of my favorites and most treasured during the year.

I love winter, as anyone who knows me even a little bit can attest, and I love flowers, and I think this twinkling muted mauve strikes a lovely balance between the two for this romantic month of February.  I think it might be a relatively easy one to make, too!

>>> vintage hydrangea <<<

franken-polish "Woodland Whispers"

I remember making this polish as if in a dream; a vague, carefree wandering through color, without destination or objective.  The result was thoroughly surprising- a new favorite!  Looking back, I don't know what possessed me to mix teal, orchid pink, violet, and blackened olivine gold together, but I hope it possesses me again because DANG.  Sometimes your brain just needs to get out of the way and let the muse take over.

This polish makes me think of fairies in the forest, wings flickering covertly through leaves while tiny voices reach out to each other and intertwine in the mist.  Secretive.  Elusive.  Ethereal.

 

>>> woodland whispers <<<

 

frankenpolish "Sassenach" {inspired by Outlander}

So I've had quite an eventful month since I last posted.  Some friends and I started an organization, Missoula Solidarity Alliance, and organized a Unity March & Volunteer Fair, and generally stepped well outside my secluded little comfort zone.  Coincidentally, the story of MSA's logo actually foreshadows the first life of the Outlandish heroine who inspired today's polish.  For our symbol, we chose the white poppy, a peace symbol from Britain which was first distributed by the Co-operative Women's Guild in 1933, during the period of widespread fear throughout Europe that proceeded WWII.  The white poppy, therefore, is a reminder that we are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.  The world was indeed divided, though, in 1939, and as a result the fictional character of Claire Randall was deployed as a British combat nurse.  When she accidentally travels back in time through a stone circle, her medical skills are immediately useful in rebellious 18th century Scotland.  She is regarded with suspicion by her Scottish hosts/captives, and frequently referred to as "Sassenach".
 
Claire Randall: I distinctly heard the barman in the pub last night refer to us as Sassenachs.
Reverend Wakefield: I hope you didn't take offense. It only means Englishman, after all, or at worst, outlander.
― Diana Gabaldon, Outlander

After I made this polish, it reminded me of Claire's resilience and passion, while invoking the ubiquitous blues, reds, and greens of Scottish tartans.  Complex, enigmatic, fierce, bold, mysterious- that's Claire for you!

>>> Sassenach <<<

frankenpolish "at last I see the light" {inspired by Tangled}

And at last I see the light
And it's like the fog has lifted
And at last I see the light
And it's like the sky is new
And it's warm and real and bright
And the world has somehow shifted
All at once everything looks different
Now that I see you

I for sure cried during this scene the first time I watched "Tangled"; thousands of floating lights over the water and one seriously great song, it's just too beautiful to be believed!!  I was a freshman in college at the time, and no, I wasn't drunksy-faced in the slightest.  I was seriously completely sober, crying tears of the purest joy over a children's film.  This is not an uncommon occurrence for me, if I'm being honest.  I cry all the time (ALL THE TIME), and I don't even know if I mind; feeling things strongly makes me feel awake and alive to the world, you know what I mean?

This might be my favorite franken yet; or at the very least, its easily top three!  I'm not confident that I captured it completely, and then there are some elements like the "Fairy Violet" flakes that almost over-express copper in photographs, but overall hopefully you get the idea!  I didn't actually have this inspiration in mind while I was mixing, just an instinct that these components belonged together. ♥️ 

I might not have been really seeing the light before but I'm certainly seeing it now!

>>> at last I see the light <<<

Flynn Rider & Rapunzel

franken-polish "Fireside Dreaming"

For my very first frankens, I relied heavily on creative prompts such as favorite books and Pinterest boards for inspiration.  I found that an image helped guide my selections amongst the hundreds of polishes that I've given up to frankening, a task which was rather overwhelming at first.  I've also found that it tends to make those frankens more complicated, with more components, which I wouldn't have expected.

Then, about a couple weeks in, something I'd hoped for starting happening: I started to flow into my frankening, making a polish purely from creative impulse.  They didn't come from anywhere, and yet they did: they reflected the amalgamation of my moods and memories from the day or week or month or year, a translation into color and sparkle.  I find it to be a freer, looser, somewhat more relaxing way of creating; there are no constraints, no benchmarks, no right or wrong answers!  Sometimes it's fun to create something just for the joy of creating it.  This franken was one of those. :)

>>> Fireside Dreaming <<<

franken-polish "Laughing Aspen"

Happy Fall-Back Day!  No matter how many times it happens, I still find this day so bewildering.  It's such a strange thing to do, really.

I've been very much into the seasonal vibe when I've been frankening so far, and one of my favorite things about autumn are yellow aspen leaves!  We don't have terribly many aspen or birch or poplars right here in Western Montana, but I treasure the golden autumn laughter of each one.  Aspen are my very favorite trees, and I've been stockpiling an improbably long list of polish ideas inspired by their autumnal state alone.  This is my first attempt, guided and inspired by the image below!

"Autumn Gold" by Adam Schallau

>>> Laughing Aspen <<<