Summertime Fruit Stand Nails

One of the best things about summer is the fabulous fresh fruit that is abundantly available. 

Temps here are beginning to strive for that summery feel more consistently, so I thought it would be a great way to celebrate summer by rocking some yummy fruity nails. 

I have Blackberries, Cantaloupe, Strawberries, Watermelon and Cherries represented. 

These nails are a lot more simple than they look, so you can easily impress anyone with your skills. 

I started with a base color for each nail that would either be the primary color of the fruit, or the background color. This is two coats of color, and a quick dry top coat. It is important to add the top coat, because when adding multiple layers to nails, with each new layer only covering part of the previous, it is very easy to smear or smudge the newer layer. If you apply top coat, you can easily dip a Q-tip in acetone and dab away the mistake, and not have to repaint the whole nail from the beginning. 

I am going to start painting the cherries first. It is a good practice to get into, to start from the nail furthest from you. That way you don't accidentally drag your hand across already decorated nails. 

I often will use white as the base when I'm doing cherries, but this time I went with yellow. I felt that the other nails would be so bright and busy once done, that white would be drab and get lost in the shuffle. I wanted my cherries just as bright and vibrant as the rest. 

I place a little dab of red paint in a plastic tray, and using my dotting tool I apply pairs of dots to the nail. 

 Like so: (If you do not have a dotting tool, many many things can be used to make dots: a Q-tip stick with one cotton end cut off, a dead ball point pen, toothpick, unfolded paper clip. These are all things I have used at one time or another to make different sized dots. Improvise with what you have)

I used my brown and green striping paints to add the stems and leaves.

 Remember the warnings I gave about doing outer nails first, and using top coat? It is a GOOD thing I did, because on my right hand, I did the fruits in a different order than my left hand, and on the right, the cherries are on the middle finger. And of course, I smeared the cherries.

 I used a Q-tip with acetone to dab away the excess red, and then used my dotting tool to add a bit of yellow back over the problem area... and voila! Mostly fixed nail :)

 I used my dotting tool to add a darker green over the light green striping paint, because the light green didn't show up well against the yellow, and I wanted it to pop more.

Next I did the Strawberries. I forgot to take a pic of the strawberry on its own, poor mistreated strawberry!
The Strawberry is probably the easiest to do. With my striping paint, I made a few small downward facing triangles of different sizes, overlapping each other for the leaves, and added rows of small black dots for the seeds.
Since the Cantaloupe and Watermelon are so similar, I did them at the same time. I painted the top half of each nail with dark green. It took two and probably a half coats to get a solid green.
It would also be cute to paint the lower half of the nail, and have the rind at the bottom. I didn't think of that till after I'd already painted the green on, otherwise I would have turned one of them around the other way.

Using the light green striping paint, I added a few wavy lines straight down for the watermelon, and a few curved down from a single point for the cantaloupe. A straight stripe across finishes up the rind of the cantaloupe, and a wavy line across does so for the watermelon.
In this pic you can get a good view of the poor little strawberry.

 To finish out the look, a few lighter orange/peachy spots for the cantaloupe seeds, and three black teardrop shapes for the watermelon. I have experimented with more seeds on the watermelon, similar to the strawberry, and I thought it just was too much. looked more like an odd strawberry. Just a few bigger seeds conveys the idea more clearly I think. But, that is my opinion, anything you like is what is right for your nails.

 Lastly, I did the blackberries. I was originally trying for grapes. However, the bunchiness of them didn't translate well. So I kept layering three colors of purple, overlapping them till I got what I thought looked very berryish. A few straggly green lines for the brier vines, and I think it does a pretty good job being a berry. (I am actually glad the grapes didn't' work out. I love grapes, but blackberries are one of my favorite foods ever).

 And there you have it. Your fabulous, summery fruit nails. Perfect for any BBQ or picnic.

Fine Feathered Phalanges

I had planned on doing this manicure for Thanksgiving, but because Thanksgiving week was busy, and I was lazy then, it just didn't happen. So, here is a manicure I'd seen a while ago, that I loved for its unique look. 

However, most tutorials I saw seemed to be geared towards those of us who do nails regularly. Not all followed the KISS principal. That being said... here is my go at it! 

First off, you will need feathers... I got a bag of them from the craft store for just a couple dollars. 

You'll need small scissors, and cuticle nippers. You will also need a thick, quick drying top coat. I used Seche Vite. (Which, I just found out is carried at CVS, and probably other regular drug stores with beauty sections... so no need to go out of your way to a special store like Ulta for just that. Unless you want to, which, I would totally understand!)

You'll be putting several coats on each nail (at least 3) so make sure you have enough. I used clear, but other than clear could be used. (Micro glitter or shimmer could give you an interesting effect. Just make sure that since we are adding many layer it doesn't totally obscure the feather)

You'll also need a fine grit nail file. I rarely will use anything more rough than the roughest grit on a 3 way buffing stick. Too rough of a grit will cause uneven edges that can chip, peel and flake, as well as get caught on things and tear. 

Start with painting your nails a base color. I used Princesses Rule! by OPI (A very pretty, very girly pinky color I got from one of my bestest friends, Mags) 

Select the feathers that you would like to use, that somewhat fit your nails. Look at patterns and placement, and pick what you think will look best. It doesn't have to be just the tip, you can use the sides or center, whatever will produce the look you are going for. 

 Using the small scissors, snip off the part of the feather to be applied on your nail. You'll end up with a large section for your nail, and several smaller sections as well. Save the small sections, they are good for filling in blank spaces, or fixing "oopps" moments. (I'll have an example of that momentarily)

Coat one nail with clear top coat, wait no more than a few seconds, and place the feather on your nail. It is ok to have over-hang, we'll fix that later. Press the feather into the polish, to make it stick and lay smooth.
Now for our first coat of top coat over the feather!
Use the brush with top coat to smooth out the feather. I occasionally brushed UP the nail, to make things lay how I wanted them to.

 Now use your small scissors to cut off most of the over-hang. You do not need to get it perfect, we're just getting rid of the part that will be burdensome while trying to do your other nails.

 Repeat this process for all nails.
To recap: to this point you have base polish, clear coat, feather, and then your first layer of clear coat.

 Once the first layer of polish is completely dry, use your cuticle nippers to clean up the edges. Trim the over-hang as closely to your nail as you can. In trying to trim mine super close, I slipped and ended up taking a chunk out. This is why saving tiny pieces is good.

 I simply dabbed a little top coat onto the blank spot and wedged that little snippet of feather into the hole. Once it was pressed into place and trimmed, it was hard to tell here my gap had been.
*one note about trimming, make sure you SNIP all pieces, and do NOT tug! Tugging will cause the feather to pull up off the nail. I used several small snips per nail, to make sure I didn't pull the feather out of place. (after the first time I pulled it out of place)

After trimming, (be sure to trim around the cuticle area, so you get all the little stray feathery pieces) it is time for the second coat of top coat.
When the second coat is dry, use the file to smooth away all of the rough edges, and do another trimming if necessary. File downward only, as side to side or up will possibly tear the feather and pull it up.
*one note about trimming, make sure you SNIP all pieces, and do NOT tug! Tugging will cause the feather to pull up off the nail.

Now, with everything smooth, you're ready for the 3rd layer of top coat.
Normally, each time I dip my brush in polish I will cover about two nails, because you want thin layers usually. This is not a usual case. Dip your brush in polish for each nail, you want each coat to be a good solid layer. This is why you should use a good quality quick dry polish... you can make the layers thick without having to dry for hours.

And there you have it! Naturally decorated nails in a custom pattern that you've done yourself!

I think this is my favorite nail of all of them! (the pointer finger on my right hand)

Formal Nails: Neato Tuxedo

Tomorrow is New Year's eve, and many people like to go out and dress up, and make it a special occasion. I am not exception to this... however, I will be hanging out at one of my best friend's house, eating more than we should, drinking a little wine, just generally being silly and spending time with one of my favorite men in the world (who at 4 is more of a lady's man than a lot of grown men I know). Even still, though my clothes will be comfy, I decided I needed some festive party nails. And what says fancy better than a tuxedo?
Now... those that know me, my idea of fancy has less to do with black tie and more to do with Glittery sparkly things than most others, and my tuxedo nails won't be any different.

 To start with, other than nail polish, you will need blue painters masking tape (it is less sticky than regular tape, and will be less likely to peel up your nail polish), scissors, and a dotting tool. I found an inexpensive double ended one at Rite-Aid (came in a pack with 3 mini nail polishes for $5). Small paint brushes would work as well, but a dotting tool is simple and is less to clean up.

As you can see, I made each of my tux shirts a different color. You can use all of the same color, or just a few colors, whatever suits your needs. 

First, paint your nails the "shirt" color. On one hand I went with the red side of the scale, on the other hand the blue end. 

 Using the scissors, cut off triangles of tape, making the point as narrow or wide as feels appropriate for you and your nails. I went with some more narrow than others, just because my nails like to be stylish and unique.

 Place the triangle on the top portion of your nail, blocking out the part that will remain the shirt color. There is no right or wrong to this... some of mine are very shallow, and some of mine are a deep V. And some are off center a bit. That's ok... I personally like the variety.

 Tape off all of your nails at once, otherwise you'll be having to repair smudges and nicks many times.

Once taped off, paint the Tux color over the whole nail. I went with a sparkly black. Gives it a very Elvis/Liberace feel.

 I only let the black dry a few moments before removing the tape. You don't want to let it dry too much or you can have a rough time with the paint sticking to the tape, and peeling off.

Once you've got your jacket in place, next comes the bow tie.
Using the dotting tool, place a dot of color where you want half the tie, then work the paint into a triangle-ish shape. On my left hand, I used the larger side of the dotting tool, because I can get more color on more quickly, and I'm right handed. When painting my right hand, I used the smaller side. It took a little longer, and had to dip in the paint a few more times, but I was less likely to mess up and smear too much paint around.
When the first half of the tie is in place, repeating the process, create the other side of the tie.

After I created the ties, I then used the same color paint to create two shirt buttons below the tie.
The final touch was using silver to create buttons on the Tux jacket.

 Cover everything with a good top coat, to "lock it in place".

 These are a fun way to wear a lot of color, without being over the top bright, or looking like you're a 6 year old raiding your mom's polish stash. (not that there's anything wrong with that)
For an even more subtle look, you could do this on just one nail on each hand, as an accent. Or switch it around and make the shirt black and the jacket white... take the ideas and run with it!

I hope everyone has a great New Year's eve, filled with friends and loved ones, good food, better laughs, and more joy than your heart can stand!

Holiday Nails #2

So... this tutorial will be skimpy on pictures, because my phone and I were not seeing eye to eye... I told it to email all the pics to myself, and it only emailed one. And by the time I noticed, I'd already deleted the step by step pics. Siiiggghhh... of course.
Hopefully, I'll be able to describe well enough what I did, that it won't matter, and you'll be able to tell what I mean from the finished pics.

First, I painted my nails silver, then added a coat of holographic silver glitter. Nice and shimmery! 

For the Holly, I did the leaves in 5 steps using a stiff calligraphy brush. 

1. I drew a v shape for the inner point of the holly, pointing towards the corner of my nail. 

2. Draw little C shapes from each point of the V, making sure the curves are in towards each other

3. End the shape with another V, this time upside down. 

4. Color in your leaf shape

5. Add a few dots of red paint for the berries

 Next, and the more "fancy" of the two designs is the pine cone & bough. It really isn't a hard design to do, and having a bit of a shaky hand actually comes in handy with this one.
So here are the steps I took to create my little forest
1. I started with the outer corner of the pine cone, with a small dot of brown
2. Draw a small squiggle with the brown over the dot, slightly larger than the dot.
3. Add another squiggle, leaving breaks and uneven spots to simulate the layers of the pine cone, continuing to increase the size of each layer, until the mid point. Then decrease the size of each next layer of squiggle until you end up with a small point again.
4. If you look really closely at the pic, you can see little white squiggles in between the brown squiggles... go in with white, and fill in a few blank spots, to make it look like snow has gathered on the pine cone. It isn't a very "obvious" look, but it just gives it a little more dimension and makes it fun.
5. Here's where a shaky hand really would pay off: draw in a ragged, twisted branch next to the cone.
6. Using some green, draw in whispy little pine needles. I used two colors of green, for a little dimension and interest. I used the light green first, and drew in bundles of 3 pine needles in several places (4, if you're counting). I made them different lengths, thicknesses, etc. Then I did the same with the darker green, typically only putting two little streaks of green. I didn't want to totally cover the lighter color, just provide some interest.

Now just cover it all with a good top coat, and you have some pretty nature-y seasonal nails.

Holiday Nails #1

Holiday parties call for something other than a simple every day sort of nail. This is a time of year where glitzy and festive is in order! So, for my first set of Holiday appropriate nails, I will show you Ornament nails! 

These guys are simple to do, with a few simple tools. I am using a bamboo skewer that I have snipped the tip off of and filed smooth, and a caligraphy brush that I haven't broken down the bristles, they are still stiff except for the last 2 mm, that you can see in the pic slightly bending.
Choose 4, 5, 6, as many colors as you want! I poured small blobs of each of my colors onto my "pallet", which is just another old used CD case.

I started by painting my nails a really cool black with sliver iridescent flecks in it. Then using the bamboo skewer, I began to randomly place different colored dots on my nails, in no particular color pattern, layout, or size. I stuck with mostly round, though none were perfectly round. 

Continue to fill in spaces on your nails, alternating colors on the nails, or making them all the same if you prefer.

Once you've gotten all the little dots you want in place, add little gold or silver "hooks" on each. I used the stiff bristled brush for this, but a toothpick would also work.
I drew a little straight bar at the top (or side) of the ornament, and then a little C shape on top to make a D shaped hook. It is ok if they are crooked, or filled in too much, or too small, or too big. How many ornament hooks have you seen that are perfect?

Once you have all the hooks on your ornaments, cover with a good clear topcoat, and you're done! You now have cute little piles of ornaments to spread cheer wherever you go. 

Showing my right hand, so you can see that even using your non-dominant hand you can accomplish this look easily. (For me, it helps if I hold the brush still with my left hand, and move my right hand below the brush, instead of moving the brush around.)

Merry Christmas to all!

Butterlfy Wing Nails Tutorial

I am obsessed with painting my nails. I typically re-do them twice each week, sometimes more depending on what I have going on, if I find an idea I just HAVE to try out now, or if my current paint job is chipping or flaking. Because of this, I've been asked to provide tutorials on some of my looks.

There are many pics and tutorials out there with "How-to's" on pretty much everything, so why another tutorial? I think my designs are easy, because I am not a perfectionist, I see the beauty and the fun in little "oops" moments, and because most of what I use you can pick up at any drug store. While I do have a few OPI, and I SWEAR by Seche Vite, most of my products are on the inexpensive end of the spectrum.

So... with that said, let's begin! I am going to start with the manicure that got the request for a tutorial: Butterfly Wings!

Pic of the manicure on my actual hands.

For the tutorial, I have chosen to do the process on a set of fake nails, since I just did the manicure on my own, before tutorial. 

There are two ways to do a Butterfly wing: black first or color first. Today I am going to show you how to start with a dark base, and add color. (If you are going to be using very pale colors that might not cover black easily, then you would want to do the color first, then apply black. That will be a different tutorial)

First step: Pick a dark base color.  I chose a flat charcoal/black that I mixed myself (using LA Colors clear as the base, which I got at the $1 store)

A nice, textured flat black

Next I decided that I wanted some of the nails to have a little bit of sparkle to them (I am a glitter FIEND!)

  

I used Pure Ice Irridescent Glitter

You can see the slight shimmer on the top two nails

Second Step: Choose what colors you want your wings to be. Below I am holding 3 of the many colors I will use. These are bottles of stripping polish, the brushes are long and thin, perfect for nail art. (Sinful Colors runs about $2 per bottle, so very affordable)

If you do not have Stripping polish, or you have colors that you want to use that are do not come in the stripping paint, going to the craft store and buying inexpensive paint brushes are ideal. The two below are my favorites to use, and were less than $3 each.

 Pour a small amount of the color you want to use onto a flat surface, or into a small container. (as you can see, this old CD case is getting a lot of use). Make sure you only pour out a small amount at a time. You don't want the blob to dry out too fast and waste more than necessary.

Pretty light lime green!

Third Step: draw a long tear-drop shaped wegde on one side of the nail. (there are two main ways I draw wings, this is the first way)

Draw a second tear-dropish shape next to your first. 

 Finally, draw a third tear-dropish shape. Remember, this is your wing, there is no "EXACT" way it has to go. It can be an upsidedown tear drop, like I have below, or more angular. Whatever shape looks good to you, and "looks right" is the shape you should go with.

 Second style wing: Start with a wedge of color at the top of the wing

Add your three tear-drops below that wedge.  Make sure there is always at least a little bit of background color showing between each wedge of color, to get the right effect.

 You can always leave your wings a single color, there is no requirement that you use two colors for each wing like I do. Also, there is no reason you have to limit yourself to two colors... make your wings tri-colored, or quadra-colored if that is what makes you happy!

I am, however, going with Bi-colored wings at the moment. So here's how you do that.

Step Five: using one of the stripping colors, or small paint brush, begin to add little swipes of color. I like to add them in the corners, and in this example I made them more like a gradient of color, smoothly fading from blue to green.



If you do not like how much of the second color you put on, go back with your small brush and dab your first color along the edge where the colors meet to blend better.

If you are using stripping colors, it is ok to do all colors on one nail, before moving onto the next. You can get some great marbling effects by layering color on when the first color is still wet.

However, if you are using a small blob of paint you poured out and a paint brush, I would recommend doing all nails that you want with that color, so the paint doesn't dry out between nails.

Sixth Step: Using white paint on your small brush or stripping paint, dot little irregular dots of white in the black space. You can dot only the tip...

 Or anywhere there is a gap between the colors. Vary it up, play with what you think looks best. And remember: the white dots do not have to be perfect! They should vary in size, be oddly shaped, and do not have to be symetrical! Butterflys aren't perfectly symetrical, so your nails don't need to be.

 Last Step: Make sure you follow with a good clear coat. I use Seche Vite... it is fast drying, strong, long lasting... It is one of the FEW things I will pay more than a couple dollars for. It typically runs between $9-10 dollars per bottle, which isn't bad, but I'm typically cheap, so my being willing to pay that for polish means I adore it. 

These yellow and orange nails are a good example of not smoothing out and fading the colors into each other.

The pink and blue nail is a good example of the kind of marbling that can happen when the first color is still wet when the second color is applied.

 

Up close, you can see little color strays, odd mixing of the colors, maybe some "oops" moments... but that's ok, step back, and look at them again. From a distance the colors blend together, and you don't see imperfections, you see beautiful nails.

I hope that this will make it easy for you to do your own Butterfly Wing Nails.