Valentines Day Dots-Beginner

multi-dots

So youre not really that great at drawing tons of little hearts or writting 'xoxo' on your fingernails, but you want to get that Valentines Day theme across. Well here ya go! Super simple, so much so that i really dont think i need to explain how to do these. :P
Have fun! Here's what you'll need;

*pink polish
*darker pink polish
*thin brush black polish
*thin brush white polish
*top coat
* Note: if you dont have thin brush polishes, a stylus or toothpick can be used instead

Halloween Themes-Intermediate

multi halloween themed

So you're looking for something to do for Halloween but you dont want to settle on just one thing. Tah-Dah! Now you can have a bunch of Halloween themed designs :D This one is really fun to do but it requires a ton of materials!! Here's what you'll need.

*orange polish
*black polish
*cream/pink manicure polish
*red polish
*thin brush black polish
*thin brush white polish
*pale yellow polish
*thin brush gold glitter polish
*stylus
*notecard
*top coat polish
*base coat polish
*Note: if you dont have thin brush polishes, a stylus or toothpick can be used instead

First, base coat all them nails! Let dry.

Black Cat:

Apply your orange polish. Two coats usually makes for a nice rich color! Let dry.

With the thin black polish, carefully draw a thin tail. Then paint a thick body, thin neck and a oval-like head. Add the ears on top and then fill in. Let dry.

Using your stylus and white paint, make small circles for eyes.

Now, still using the stylus, make a black dot inside the white one. Let dry.

Paint a little yellow moon up in the corner!

Apply top coat and you're done!







Pumpkin:

 This one is easy! :]

Apply your orange polish.  Let dry.

Place your hand somewhere steady and using the thin black polish, paint two triangles for eyes, and any sort of mouth you'd like! Let dry.

Top coat that veggie!



V-french tip:

Apply the cream/pink polish. Let dry.

With the orange polish, paint diagonal strokes to create a 'v' as the tip.
Let dry.

With the thin black polish, trace that 'v'. Let dry.

Repeat the previous step with the gold polish. Let dry.

Add top coat.


Fangs:

 Apply two coats of black polish. Let dry.

With your thin white polish [dont put too much polish on the brush], draw one large canine(fang). Re-dip your brush, getting a little bit more on it this time. Paint four regular teeth along the top, leaving room for the second fang. Draw the last fang.

Repeat this step on the opposite side of your nail. Let dry.       Add top coat!

Foxy Cat: <-- i think this is an oxymoron...

 Apply two coats of orange polish. Let dry.

Using your stylus, draw little 'hair' marks in red polish. Start this at the base of your nail, skip a space(leaving it open for the yellow fur), and draw another row of 'hair'. Dont worry about letting this dry until after you've applied the yellow fur.

Repeat the previous step with yellow polish. Let dry.

With the thin white polish, draw a messy rectangle up towards the top of your nail, this will be where we put the nose. For the whiskers, draw very thin lines coming out of the large rectangle.

Make two smaller spots above the rectangle, this will be where we draw the eyes. Let dry.

With your thin black polish, make two kind of large ears, close to the face. Add eyes, nose and mouth.

Going back with the thin white polish, highlight the ears. Let dry.

Add top coat and you're done!

Tree Seasons-Advanced

This is one of the hardest designs I have done yet. There is some crazy intricate work going on here and because of this, there are extra photos in this DIY to show you the many layers of the artwork. Also, after doing this one, I realized I had covered too much of the nail with leaves for my liking, so feel free to do less if you'd like! So, If you're up for the challenge, please continue reading! Here's what you'll need:

*brown polish
*cream or pink manicure polish
*dark green polish
*light green polish
*red polish
*orange polish
 *white polish
* optional: gold glitter polish
*top coat polish
*base coat polish
*note card
*stylus
*patience and a firm hand


Phew! that list is a little long.

Okay, so first we start by putting down the base coat and letting it dry.

Next, apply a thin layer of your cream/pink manicure polish. Let dry.

Now is the challenging part.

Using your brown polish, dab some onto your notecard. Get some, but not a lot, on the end of the stylus. Lightly and carefully draw a straight line, starting from your cuticle bed to about 2/3 of the way up your nail. I drew my line more along the side of my nail rather than dead center. Note: you may have to re dip the stylus a couple times to get enough polish onto the nail.

Add branches using the same technique. Remember to "branch out" and not just draw straight lines coming out of the middle trunk. *See thumb* Let dry. (It will take a longer than normal) Wipe off your stylus when done; you dont want to mix colors!

 

Here comes the fun part!

Dab dark green polish onto your note card. Use your stylus to apply small dots (leaves) around the small branches of the trees. Do this on as many nails as you'd prefer.

The same process goes for the red polish, on a different tree(s). Let dry.

Now, using your lighter green polish, dab it onto the note card and apply a second layer of dots onto the tree with the stylus. Don't put as many as you did the first time.

The same process goes for the orange, which should go on top of the red 'leaves'.

If you want to do an intermediate phase, such as fall leaves changing, put the greens and red together. Be cautious and limit the amounts of each when doing this, otherwise your tree will just look like blob with a trunk.

For the winter tree, use white polish and your stylus to carefully outline the 'ground' and certain branches. vwa-la! snow!

LET DRY.

 Next you will need to get that orange polish out and put some on a note card also. Use your stylus's bigger end to make a larger dot near the base of your nail, for the pumpkin(s). 

To add the little pumpkin leaf, use the stylus's small end with green polish and lightly draw a small line.

Adding the glitter is done the same way as pretty much everything else on here! dab/note card/ stylus/ dots 

:]

Wait til you can wait no longer for it to dry. Because there are so many layers, this design can take quite a while to dry if you didnt wait in between steps!!

When all is done, add your top coat and dont touch anything for a while. The top coat can remoisturize the polish and make it easy to smudge your design, and you really wouldnt want that after all this hard work!

So, after waiting an eternity, you can now give yourself a pat on the back.

whoo!

Simple Bow-Beginner

Simple Bow

This one I did in a bit of a hurry (I get impatient), as you can tell from the mess around my cuticles >_<.
Never-the-less, it turned out well! Here's what you'll need:

*teal polish
*purple polish (a shiny type is more fun)
*pink/purple rhinestone
*thin brush black polish
*base coat polish
*top coat polish

First put that base coat on! Since we're working with a blue/green polish, its important to cover the nail in base coat so that the polish doesn't turn our nails a yellowish color later on.

Apply desired amount of your teal polish. Let dry.

Now, wipe most of the purple polish off the brush before starting this part. There's nothing worse than going to paint something delicate and ending up with a huge glob of paint on the nail instead. Carefully paint a rough bow shape on your finger. Remember, the outline of the bow will be in black, so don't worry if your bow has some unfinished looking edges! Let dry.

Using the black brush, carefully outline the bow shape. Add a few marks in the middle for a fabric look. Let almost dry.

Add the rhinestone to the center. Press down lightly or else you will smudge the paint! Let dry.

Put on the top coat and you're all set!

**Note: when applying top coat when rhinestones are involved, I like to make sure I don't cover the rhinestone itself in topcoat. This can cover up and sometimes fade its luster.

Minnie Mouse-Intermediate

minnie mouse

This by far is my favorite design that I've done so far. It is super cute and the best part is, you can change up the tip color to anything you want and it will still look good! This design required some extra tools you many not have. I will provide photos of them at the end of the post. Here's what you'll need:

*thin brush black polish
*red polish
*white polish
*optional: stylus (works great for making the dots) (can find this at Staples or Office Max)
*optional: rhinestones/rhinestone applicator  (can get these at any Sally Hanson store)
*note card (yes, an actual note card)
*cream manicure polish
*top coat
*PATIENCE


First apply the cream polish. Let dry

Next, paint a 'french tip' across your nail using the red polish, or if you want, you can chose to use a different color for this part. I like to paint upwards towards the end of my nail, instead of swiping the brush across the nail in one stroke. It allows for more control over the shape of the tip. Let dry.

Now,  dab a little of your white polish onto the note card. Using your stylus, apply some to the tip and make your polka dots on the red area on your nails. Let dry.

Carefully with the black polish, make a smooth line across the end of the red tips. this is a really nice way to hide any proof that your 'french tips' were uneven! Let dry.

Now comes the difficult part; adding the bows. I'm not going to lie, this is not an easy task, especially when trying to do it with your weaker hand. Be very patient with this part!! Using your black polish, make a small triangle on the black line. Make sure your triangle has one of its points directly on the black line. If you dont know what i mean, check out my pinkie, you can see the triangle better on that finger. Repeat this process with another triangle being the mirror-image of the first. Let dry.

**If you would like to add rhinestones, do this BEFORE your nail is completely dry!

 Finally, put the top coat on and your nails are now adorable :P 

stylus

rhinestones and applicator

Cheetah/Kissy Lips-Intermediate

Cheetah Kisses

These were really fun to make and i still cant decide if they were Cheetah spots or kissing lips. Either way, they are definitely one of my favorites. Here's what you'll need:

*Cream or pink manicure polish
*Thin brush black polish
*Beige polish
*top coat polish
*optional: silver sparkle polish


First paint a line across the top of your nail with the beige polish. This will be your "french tip" so to speak. Let mostly dry.

Paint your cream/pink polish over the entire nail. make sure you always start from the cuticle and brush upwards towards the end of your nail. That way, the cream blends the beige in the right direction and you don't end up with smearing on the cream part. Let dry.

Now, carefully using your black thin brush, paint tiny curves opposite each other. Remember, adding little imperfections is what makes them look more like spots/lips, than just two semi circles.Let dry.

If you're adding sparkles, this would be the point to do that! i added a few on my middle and ring finger.

Finally, put that top coat on and you're DONE!

fierce, no?

Zebra Stripes -Beginner

Zebra Stripe/Dots

Animal Prints! Although these tend to be more difficult, they are really fun to paint and can end up really wacky if you want. This design above, is my own twist on zebra stripes. Of course you can do the generic version of zebra stripes more or less the same way I have done mine. Here's what you'll need:

*cream or pink manicure polish
*thin brush black polish
*white polish
*top coat polish

 First, put down a coat of your cream/pink polish.

For the stripes, simply draw lines with your black polish. Make sure to make your movements brisk so that the lines are tapered and not even. I usually do about 5 lines. Let dry.

Carefully dab small dots around the edges of the lines with the white polish. Let dry.

Add your top coat.
DONE!


If you're looking to just do a zebra stripe look, keep reading.

Zebra Stripes

These nails are quite long...i know... i went through a phase, alright? haha

Okay so the answer to how to do these is pretty simple also. Instead of branching your stripes out from a corner of your nail, you need to make them alternating across the entire body of the nail.
I like to do a bit of a squiggle, along with the tapering, to make them look less uniform.

just go wild!

pun intended :P