While I’m on my Blizzard kick, I decided to also do a Hearthstone manicure. I can proudly say that this game I actually play! I’m terrible at it, but I still have fun. And really, isn’t that the point of games?

For those not in the know, it’s a digital trading card game based off World of Warcraft. You can choose from the 9 classes and build a deck using the cards available to each specific class. It’s only slightly more complicated than I make it sound, but only slightly. Believe me, the mechanics are very easy to understand. My playing it should be a testament to that. You should be able to pick it up by the time you’re done with the tutorial.

Anyway, as always, the logo was created following my decal tutorial. Fun tidbit: the spiral glows in the dark! After I had painted it, I topped it with a layer of glow in the dark polish. I wish I could have photographed it, but it was so small it didn’t pick up on camera. Still, I amused myself with the knowledge that it did.

The rest of the nails are a simple french tips achieved using nail tape. It’s the jewels that I take pride in. They mimic the rarity jewels on the cards. White for common, blue for rare, purple for epic, orange for legendary.

Having been trapped indoors by the dozen or so consecutive snow storms, I didn’t have a chance to buy nail jewels. Even if I did, I wasn’t sure I could find the specific ones. So I made them!

First, I rolled out a gem out of air dry clay, and when it was solid I made impressions of it in oil-based clay. I then mixed a tiny amount of epoxy resin, colored it with acrylic paint, and poured it into the mold. After it was cured, I de-molded and cleaned them. The white and orange stones were perfect, but the blue and purple weren’t vibrant enough, so I painted their backs with nail polish. I glued silver leaf to their backs to help make them more reflective.

All that trouble for 4 tiny gems! But I think it was worth it. It’s one of my top favorite manicures now. And it lasted pretty long. It took a week before I lost the first gem, which is impressive considering it was only held on by a layer of clear nail polish.

Partially in the interest of having a prop, and mostly in the interest of my stomach, I made Kierstin’s “Hearthscones”. They’re pear scones with blueberry preserves, and they were DELICIOUS. Mine aren’t anywhere as pretty as hers and I blame my warm house for it, since it caused my batter to spread out. Next time I’ll try rolling and refrigerating them before baking.

But in case my picture and words were not enough to entice you into visiting her site, I will flat-out, shamelessly say GO VISIT EAT GAME LIVE. Trust me, your stomach will thank you. Kierstin makes tons of great game inspired, healthy meals. What more could you want?

And go play some Hearthstone! It’s free! Try it, and if you hate it you can always uninstall it and there’s no big loss. Unless you unfollow me for it. Then it’s my loss and I’m sorry. Please don’t do that.