Konad Nail Stamping Set - First Attempt

So as most of my readers know, I have a bit of a passion for nail art.  About a year ago I stumbled across the konad Nail Art stamps - I was smitten.  I had planned to put it on my Christmas list, but it completely slipped my mind and until recently I forgot about it.
Summer always seems to re-ignite my nail art passion and so it wasn't surprising that I remembered about the Konad stamps and decided to watch some youtube videos; I fell in love all over again :)
I have been caring for my lovely husband for the last month and had to cut back my working hours.  Treats and none essential items are pretty much a no go.  When my beautiful Beau initially told me he was going to treat me to the starter set, I politely declined.  After all money is tight and we are saving for a house!  When he told me it wasn't up for debate and that he was getting me a thank you for being awesome gift, I went weak at the knees =D He really is a superstar ;)
After checking for the best set, we came across this seller on Amazon and placed an order.  We completed checkout on Sunday and my stamps arrived Wednesday - they also had free shipping :) £24.00 seemed fairly reasonable as well - I made a point of checking individual prices of the items and the set was very well priced.
So here is a quick peek at my set;

I love the box!  It is pink, silver and sparkly!  The items have a good solid weight to them that stops them from feeling cheap and flimsy.  The set consists of 5 image plates (each with 7 images) 1 stamper, 1 product catalogue, 1 french directions, 1 instruction DVD set, 1 set of nail diamonte, 1 image plate holder, 5 polishes 1 top coat.

The different sets have different colours, I specifically chose this one as I wanted the white and I use black, purple and pink all the time.  There is 11ml of polish in each container.

The general idea is to place your chosen design plate on the holder, apply a layer of Konad polish across the image, hold the scraper at a 45 degree angle and scrape across the varnish.  With a rolling action you then stamp over the varnish to 'pick up' the image and using the same action transfer it onto the nail.

When you watch the videos on youtube it is made to look super easy - it isn't and I had already guessed that a lot of practice would be needed!  I originally planned to wait until the weekend when I had enough time to watch the DVD and research the technique, but as friends and family will tell you; I'm very impatient.

Usually my left hand is a lot better than my right - these mismatched Zebra prints were an absolute disaster!  I was placing my hand on the table and rolling the stamp across the nail just like I'd seen on the videos - for whatever reason this technique did not work for me.

This is my right hand - I decided to switch to leopard print and as you can see my 'new' technique seems to work :) I lift my hand off the table and look closely to line up the stamp and nail - I then stamp firmly and rotate, very hard to explain.

Be prepared for mess!  Although the Konad set comes in the nifty box, working with it takes up a lot of room.  I would also advise you have a lot of pre-soaked cotton wool and nail polish remover to hand, my first attempt was messy.  The table has been branded again :(

Once cleaned up and secured with a top coat these initially look fab!  Sadly if you look closely you can see a flaw.

The top coat smudged :( Apparently there is another technique to using Konad top coat that I am yet to master!

For a first attempt it isn't too bad - yes I am still wondering around with the terrible zebra car crash on my left hand, full points for originality ;)